Everyone saw it coming, except for Michael Chandler, didn’t they? Rebooking Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler, a fight that has long been comatose, may have just been officially pronounced dead. Hear it from the boss.

“No,” UFC CEO Dana White told Complex’s Matt Welty. “I mean, that was a couple of years ago.”

White may have been keeping his cards close to the chest when it comes to announcing the fights for the UFC White House card. And it surely took a bit more probing on Welty’s part to understand White‘s state of mind about a McGregor comeback, if there’s one… if at all.

By contrast, he is keeping an open mind about it. “We’ll see if Conor’s going to come back or not. You know, we’ve been talking about it for a while. We’ll see how it plays out,” White detailed.

Talking about contrast, it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see both Chandler and McGregor milking the most out of their rivalry, speaking out of turn, as if they would clash on the South Lawn of the White House. This certainly was a spectacular opportunity for overreaction that came as recently as Wednesday, to be precise. Not only this, but there were billboards in Times Square from Paramount and the UFC featuring Conor McGregor front and center, teasing his long-awaited return. White, instead, went on to outline the UFC’s immediate schedule.

“January 23rd is Zuffa Boxing, January 24th is the first UFC, and then after that card, we’ll start working on the White House fight.”

A scrapped fight, but Conor McGregor declares open season instead

A fight between Chandler and McGregor has been teased for years now. The fact that they were opposing coaches on Season 31 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ made it interesting and possible. So when, out of the blue, White completely scrapped the idea, McGregor didn’t mind.

“Pick who ya want!” McGregor wrote on X. “The Mac sweats nothin and nobody. I’m TASTY SHOTS.”

While McGregor could still fight on the White House card, Chandler might be feeling a little betrayed. Why? Well, because he appears to have been waiting for that fight for the last two years, not to mention the fights he did take, he lost: Losing against Charles Oliveira in November 2024 via a lopsided decision and then Paddy Pimblett in April 2025 via a TKO. Could this be why the fight is no longer appealing to the UFC brass?

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As fans, what can we look forward to as far as McGregor’s future is concerned?

Insider Rueben Carter—who previously reported Israel Adesanya vs. Joe Pyfer ahead of the UFC’s announcement—has suggested McGregor could face Jorge Masvidal instead. That said, Carter’s reports have missed the mark before, so the claim should be taken with a pinch of salt. Most of you might agree that it was the biggest fight to make in 2020, something to look forward to. But with its relevance dwindling each passing year, we are looking at two semi-retired athletes looking for a lucrative paycheck in 2026, and not to mention, in two different weight classes.

McGregor hasn’t fought since his 2021 bout against Dustin Poirier, where he suffered a broken leg. While the former double champion has repeatedly teased a return, nothing has materialized yet. Jorge Masvidal, meanwhile, last competed in 2023, losing to Gilbert Burns. He even lost to Nate Diaz in a 10-round boxing match in July 2024.

There is also chatter of a Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards bout and an even more outlandish prediction of a McGregor vs. Islam Makhachev welterweight title fight at the White House. But with the UFC making Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje for the interim 155 lbs title as the first main event of 2026, is anything outside the realm of possibility anymore?

McGregor’s last few fights haven’t been easy either. He fought Dustin Poirier twice and lost both, and his last win came all the way back in January 2020 against Donald Cerrone at welterweight at UFC 246. With White dismissing Chandler vs. McGregor for the White House, we have ruled out almost all of the potential superfights of 2026 happening on Donald Trump’s birthday. Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira or Tom Aspinall is not happening, and neither is Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev.

What remains? Let me stick my neck out to that old convenient gravy boat/the prevailing fan theory that is a McGregor vs Nate Diaz fight. Split in their series, which took place almost 10 years ago, maybe the most believable of theories is McGregor dabbling in the world of boxing real soon.