Dana White: Conor McGregor Won’t Be Present At UFC 242

UFC president Dana White has revealed that Conor McGregor will not be attending UFC 242 this weekend.

UFC 242 takes place Saturday in Abu Dhabi and will be headlined by a title unification fight between lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. McGregor, of course, last lost to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 last year and has been campaigning for a rematch.

White also previously teased the possibility of the Irishman showing up at UFC 242, stating that he believed there would be no cultural problems. However, that is no longer the case according to him:

“He won’t be here,” White told ESPN in a recent interview. “I talk to Conor, normally, twice a month. I talked to Conor last night, this morning. No, he won’t be here. But he’ll be watching.”

As for when McGregor could potentially return to action, White is unsure as of now:

“I don’t know,” White added. “I honestly don’t know. It’s all going to depend on his hand [injury] and how fast it recovers.”

If McGregor does return, however, it won’t be against Nurmagomedov or Poirier. That’s because the UFC head honcho says Tony Ferguson will get the next shot:

“Listen, again, If Tony Ferguson’s ready,” White explained. “Tony Ferguson has been offered opportunities before that he hasn’t taken. If Tony’s ready, then yeah.”

What do you make of White’s comments?