Dana White explains what Conor McGregor needs in order to challenge for UFC lightweight title

McGregor fought and lost twice to Dustin Poirier in 2021, suffering a broken leg in the latter of those losses

Dana White has said Conor McGregor’s chances of fighting for the UFC lightweight title in his comeback bout depend on who is holding the belt.

McGregor fought and lost twice in 2021, with both defeats coming at the hands of old rival Dustin Poirier. The American knocked out McGregor last January, before the Irishman suffered a broken leg in their July clash.

Despite his poor form, ex-dual-weight champion McGregor is never far from a shot at gold in the UFC, and he has advised lightweight title holder Charles Oliveira to avoid a fight with Justin Gaethje and instead wait for “Notorious”.

Oliveira is expected to defend his belt against former interim champion Gaethje in May, but that bout is not yet official. While McGregor said he is on course for a July return, UFC president White said the Irishman is not guaranteed a title fight immediately upon his return.

“It’s gonna depend on who the champion is,” White told 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 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.”

McGregor said he is due to return to sparring in April, with those sessions likely to shed further light on the feasibility of a July comeback to the Octagon.

White said: “There’s a lot of variables that have to come together for him to come back and fight.

“Number one is health and how’s his leg? Once that’s 100 per cent, then we’ll start to figure out where he goes.

“We have fights made all the way up to 18 June already. Once he’s 100 per cent ready to go, we’ll get him figured out, and we’ll see what’s what with the lightweight division.”