Dana White gives unenthusiastic reaction to Michael Chandler's callout of Conor McGregor, gives significant update on Irishman's return

Dana White refused to confirm if Michael Chandler would be Conor McGregor's opponent in the comeback fight. McGregor has not competed in MMA since July 2021. The Irishman was forced to pull out of his UFC 303 fight this past July due to a toe injury. Chandler called him out after his UFC 309 clash against Charles Oliveira.

At the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, White was asked to share his thoughts on Chandler's callout. White responded with a timeline for McGregor's return and seemingly shrugged off Chandler's callout:

"Conor is going to come back in late 2025! So there will be a lot of time before we figure out who's going to fight Conor."

Check out Dana White's comments below:

After the UFC 303 fight against McGregor was canceled, 'Iron' accepted a rematch against former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira to kick off another title run.

At UFC 309, Oliveira mixed up his grappling and striking to batter Chandler for four rounds. To his credit, the American survived the relentless pressure and came close to finishing Oliveira in the final frame. The last-ditch effort could not yield the desired results and Oliveira fought his way back into the fight. As a result, Chandler lost by unanimous decision (49-46 X 2, 49-45).

Following the high-octane bout, Chandler issued a fresh callout to McGregor while also pondering over a potential BMF title fight against Max Holloway. The Hawaiian captured the ceremonial title with a historic fifth-round KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.

Holloway is coming off a third-round KO loss against Ilia Topuria in a featherweight title fight at UFC 308. While the BMF title was not on the line, Topuria has staked a claim to the title after becoming the first fighter to finish Holloway with strikes.