VIDEO | Dana White: I expect Conor McGregor’s next fight to be in the UFC

In the year 2017, the biggest ongoing story in combat sports surrounds a potential mega fight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and semi-retired boxing star Floyd Mayweather Jr. Every week, this potential showdown generates dozens of new headlines, some suggesting its fruition is just a few signatures away, others suggesting it’ll never happen at all.

Here’s another McGregor-Mayweather update for you, which falls into the latter category.

Though we’ve had plenty of reason to believe this fight could happen recently – from McGregor assuring it’s all he’s interested in, to Mayweather telling renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach to train McGregor – UFC President Dana White has recently assured that McGregor’s next fight will in fact occur in the UFC.

The UFC boss expects the Irishman to return to the cage against the winner of this weekend’s Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson interim lightweight title fight long before he steps through the ropes before he battles Mayweather. He explained this feeling in a recent interview with TMZ. Watch it in full at the top of this article.

“We’re nowhere [with Mayweather-McGregor],” White Told TMZ (via MMAFighting.com). We’re nowhere with it. We’re nowhere. I expect Conor’s next fight to be in the UFC, in mixed martial arts, and [against] the winner of Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and [Tony] Ferguson.”

While White was adamant that McGregor’s next fight would be in the UFC, he went on to explain that he understands the Irishman’s current obsession with a bout with Mayweather. It would, after all, make him a far richer man.

“The thing’s gonna be millions of dollars,” White said. “[McGregor] could make anywhere from 30 to 60 million bucks.”

At the moment, McGregor is taking a break from competition, as he is expecting his first child with longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin. What sport the Irishman returns to remains to be seen.

Do you think Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will ever fight? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/27/2017.