Dana White (again) predicts Conor McGregor's UFC return, but: 'Money messes everything up'

It appears Conor McGregor’s return will be pushed back even longer than expected.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was expected to make his highly anticipated comeback against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at UFC 303 in June, but a broken pinky toe forced him out of the bout.

Chandler, who had already exercised plenty of patience waiting for McGregor after they filmed Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” finally decided to move on. He rematches Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Chandler may have moved on, but he still has McGregor in his sights. Dana White doesn’t rule out the possibility of a McGregor vs. Chandler rebooking, but not anytime soon.

“That’s a fun fight,” White said on “The Jim Rome Show.”. “I think Conor and Chandler both like that fight. When Conor comes back, which I see being sometime the later part of next year, we’ll see where everybody’s at and what’s going on and we’ll figure out who faces Conor. That’s why everybody was so excited about it. Chandler and Conor McGregor is a fun fight.”

With McGregor’s return continuing to be delayed, many question if he’ll ever fight again. Based on his conversations with McGregor, The UFC CEO confirms that “The Notorious” still has the desire to compete – even though it’s been over three years.

“It’s a fact that he does (want to fight next year),” White said. “He and I probably talk four or five times a month. He definitely wants to come back. We’ll just see. Every time I’m on here I tell you: Money – money messes everything up. So we’ll see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.