There’s been a lot of talk about Conor McGregor’s potential UFC comeback after announcing his ‘retirement’ from the sport earlier in the year.
The Irishman had teased that he would be willing to fight Dustin Poirier in a charity fight if he wasn’t offered his own card in the UFC in December, but we’ve learned to take most of these claims with a pinch of salt.
Despite that, Dana White has insisted that it was impossible squeeze that card in this year, however he had offered McGregor that fight with Poirier in January.
“We offered him a fight, we got him his own date,” White told ESPN.
“We didn’t have a date this year. We have everything laid out for this year, with world champions fighting for titles. He wants to fight Dustin Poirier apparently, so we went to [broadcast partner] ESPN and got him his own date. He’s been offered Dustin Poirier on January 23.
“It’s a yes or no answer.”
When asked if any of the already-scheduled cards could be shifted to accommodate, White wasn’t open to the idea.
“That’s not how it works.
“We laid out this year. He was retired. Would anybody disagree he was retired? Through this crazy pandemic year we’re going through, we faced a lot of challenges. There were a lot of things done to make this thing work. We made it happen. We have our schedule laid out.
“Fighters have committed to it. Fighters have started training for these fights. Conor came back and wants to fight Dustin, so we went out and got him his own date. It’s January 23.”
That desire to fit the fight in this year could be influenced by McGregor’s rumoured boxing match with Manny Pacquiao.
Correct. Southpaw box style. Continue to sharpen my MMA skills with some tough competition, while leading into my Manny bout preparation.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 13, 2020
It’s not easy going between both sports and then coming back to the one sport again.
Just want to keep sharp guys, that’s all. It’s only fair. https://t.co/PnjHb4VP9j
Poirier will be hoping to avenge his loss when the pair met back in 2014.
Featured image credit: Getty
