The Potential Return of a UFC Superstar at International Fight Week
Just this past Tuesday, Ariel Helwani announced on his podcast that Conor McGregor is expected to fight July 11th for UFC’s International Fight Week. According to Helwani, there needs to be “something disastrous” to happen for ‘The Notorious’ to not be fighting on July 11th. In the midst of the speculation, McGregor took to Instagram in a new post confirming the rumors of a fight this summer. He went on to say that he will save fighting again and that he will see Paramount Plus soon. This presents a lot of excitement for fans to look forward to; however, given the Irish fighter’s track record of reliability, it’s hard to fully believe a fight would be happening soon.
McGregor’s last fight was almost five years ago, where he lost to Dustin Poirier in a Doctor’s Stoppage, breaking his ankle at the end of the first round. Fast-forward to the present day, and there was much speculation revolving around the return of McGregor at the White House card this summer on June 14th. However, after the card was announced at UFC 326, fans were disappointed to see that the former double-champ did not make the cut. Not all hope was lost, though, since the UFC always makes an effort to create high-profile fights every year at their International Fight Week card. After the confident announcements from both Helwani and McGregor, a return at this card could be very likely for the Irish Superstar.
It is unknown currently who McGregor could fight if the rumors are true. He was supposed to fight Michael Chandler back in the summer of 2024, but McGregor pulled out due to an injury. With Chandler now fighting on the White House card, McGregor seeks a new opponent to fight. Quite recently, Max Holloway announced on his YouTube channel that he would be up for the challenge, stating that he needs to get even with McGregor since their first fight and get back in the win column since losing to Charles Oliveira. All of this being said, nothing has been confirmed by Dana White and the UFC, so fans can only hope that these rumors can come to fruition in the near future.
