Dana White says he will announce a Conor McGregor fight when the time is right, even if the veteran keeps calling him asking to get on a card.
White announced on Tuesday after the first round of his Challenger Series that McGregor will not fight in 2024.
After White made his comments at the Challenger event, McGregor took to social media begging to fight in December. He later deleted the post.
“Ah Dana, December is the date! Bring the calendar year home with a winning event,” McGregor wrote. “Come on now, what’s this? I am off to altitude next month to prepare. DECEMBER! Tell Dana and UFC WE WANT DECEMBER! WE DESERVE DECEMBER!”
In an interview Wednesday with Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter, White elaborated on his decision.
“You can imagine after I said that Conor was blowing me up,” White said. “When we get to a point where we’re setting a fight and I believe that Conor McGregor fight is going to happen, I will announce it. As of right now, I believe that Conor will not fight this year.
“Conor is saying he wants to fight, he wants to fight in December? We’ll see how it plays out.”
McGregor was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June but had to pull out after injuring his toe during training.
McGregor, 35, has not fought since he broke his leg in a bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July of 2021.