Dana White discusses UFC 249’s impact on Conor McGregor

UFC President Dana White isn’t sure what’s next for former two-division champ Conor McGregor, who is far and away the promotion’s biggest star.

Things are quite chaotic at the top of the lightweight division at present, as undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is stuck in Russia due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions, and Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje are set to battle for the interim title in the short-notice main event of UFC 249 on April 18. It’s difficult to say where McGregor, the lightweight division’s biggest name and one of its top contenders, fits into this situation.

McGregor has long been chasing a rematch with Nurmagomedov, who he was submitted by in October of 2018, but White isn’t sure when that potential rematch will happen, as the Ferguson vs. Gaethje interim title winner is expected to get the next crack at the champ.

“This impacts everybody,” White told ESPN. “There’s three (events) that have already been postponed that we’re going to work out over the next several weeks, and I don’t know where this puts anybody, because Conor really wants that rematch with Khabib, while Khabib and Tony or Gaethje won’t fight now until probably September. So yeah, nobody saw this coming. This is one of those things you can’t predict, or see coming, but it happened, and we’re rolling with it and we’re gonna get it figured out.”

Conor McGregor last fought in January, when he decimated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in just 40 seconds. This bout marked his first since his loss to Nurmagomedov, which headlined the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history.

While McGregor remains a huge star for the UFC, it looks like he’s got some waiting to do if he wants to fight for the lightweight title. That is, unless he wants to take a welterweight fight in the meantime.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/7/2020.