Dana White Refutes Reports Talks Are Ongoing for Conor McGregor’s Next UFC Fight
Conor McGregor won’t be negotiations for his next fight until he settles his court case in New York.
That’s the word from UFC president Dana White, who refuted reports that talks are ongoing for McGregor’s return to action, presumably for a fight against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year.
On Saturday night, the UFC released the remainder of their schedule for 2018 with rumors that McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov has already been in discussions for one of the major pay-per-view cards remaining on the docket.
White shot down any rumors that the UFC has already been in talks with McGregor because he says they won’t make a move until his court case is finished. McGregor is scheduled to return to court in late July.
“I’m not even thinking about Conor,” White said at the UFC 226 post fight press conference. “I know they’re saying there’s talks. We’re not talking about a fight right now. Conor has to get through July. Whatever’s going to happen to him in July, we’ll figure that out.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen — is he gonna get fined, is he going to be on probation, this that? When that’s over with, then we’ll start talking about him fighting.”
McGregor is facing three misdemeanor assault charges and a felony charge for criminal mischief after he went on a tirade through the Barclays Center in Brooklyn back in April. McGregor and his team assaulted a UFC bus in an attempt to go after Nurmagomedov, who had been involved in an encounter with featherweight competitor Artem Lobov earlier in the same week.
McGregor ended up tossing a moving dolly through a bus window, injuring at least two fighters as well as a UFC employee. McGregor was later arrested before being charged the next day.
All signs are pointing towards McGregor reaching a plea agreement that will keep him from any kind of jail time but nothing will be determined until he goes back before a judge on July 26.
Assuming the case gets settled with a plea deal on that date, White will then think about what comes next for McGregor.
