LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 18: Conor McGregor prepares for his welterweight bout against Donald Cerrone during UFC246 at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)Conor McGregor has a long way to go before he returns to the superstar status he once held as UFC champion. But according to league president Dana White, “The Notorious” could have a future shot at the title if one thing goes his way.
“It’s gonna depend on who the champion is,” White said, per The Underground. “The champion has some say in that, too. Who’s gonna be the champ when Conor McGregor comes back? And what do they wanna do? If you look at [Charles] Oliveira, right… if it’s still Oliveira by the time he comes back, maybe Oliveira wants Conor. Who knows? I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Current champion Charles Oliveira is scheduled to defend his title against against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7 in Phoenix.
McGregor is 1-3 in his last four fights dating back to 2016. Coming off back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021 — including the second which saw the Irishman suffer a brutal leg injury — he still has a significant recovery process ahead of him.
“There’s a lot of variables that have to come together for [McGregor] to come back and fight,” White added. “No. 1 is health and how’s his leg. Then once that’s 100 percent then we’ll start to figure out where he goes. Because a lot of these — we have fights made all the way up to June 18 already. Once he’s 100 percent ready to go, we’ll get him figured out and we’ll see what’s what with the lightweight division and we’ll get him figured out.”
