Fight fans may be waiting even longer to see Conor McGregor return to the Octagon.
That is according to SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh who revealed during Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that McGregor’s rumored comeback at UFC 300 in April no longer appears to be in the cards.
“We were hoping for April. That was the hope. That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime,” Kavanagh said. “I don’t know [why]. That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forward [about] today.”
Last month, the Irishman expressed a desire to return in April while in attendance for Francis Ngannou’s fight with Tyson Fury in Riyadh. Earlier in the month, McGregor confirmed that he had re-enrolled in the USADA testing pool. The anti-doping agency requires athletes to remain in the pool for six months before being allowed to compete, putting him on track for the promotion’s next big milestone event.
John Kavanagh talks Conor McGregor.
Says they were hoping he would be fighting in April, that's what they were told. Now they are hearing it will be Summer. #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/b04zr1hUpf— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) November 13, 2023
Continuing his conversation with Helwani, Kavanagh suggested that UFC 300 could be a big enough event without McGregor’s presence, leading the promotion to shift the former two-division titleholder’s comeback to another night. Specifically, International Fight Week in July.
John Kavanagh is Trying to Look at the Bright Side of Another Conor McGregor Delay
If this proves to be the case, McGregor will have been sitting on the sidelines for three years before stepping back inside the Octagon. As his absence grows longer, the Irishman has grown more frustrated on both social media and in interviews. During his time in Saudi Arabia last month, McGregor was noticeably frustrated while discussing the situation with members of the media.
“Well, I was [worried about his mental health] too, I’m not going to lie. But hearing him today, he’s out there finding this great group of training partners — at least he’s doing that,” Kavanagh revealed. “Hey, it’s not quite the same as getting in to compete in front of a large crowd, but at least he’s getting training in, and that’s so important. We heard Volk talk about that, ‘Keep me busy,’ and all that. So I love to hear that he’s training hard with these guys.
Though it’s not what he and Conor McGregor wanted to hear from the UFC, Kavanagh is choosing to look at the bright side of an otherwise frustrating situation for the biggest star in MMA history.
“But look, and this is what I was saying to him as well — yeah, OK, it’s a knockback if we’re hearing it was April but now it’s July, but it’s not the end of the world,” Kavanagh said. “It is an extra couple of months. It’s not great. But hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment. Let’s just keep that going. But the sport, you are around for such a short time as compared to — well, I’m not going to try to make a comparison to other sports or whatever, but like our careers, we can do this for decades. For fighters, is a short time.”
Watch the full interview below:
