Conor McGregor shares interesting caveat in negotiations for UFC White House fight

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Zain Bando | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 6:43 PM ET

Chris Unger-Zuffa LL

Former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor is the furthest thing from a typical ex-champion.

After making major requests in an attempt to lure himself back into the UFC, his latest ask is an unprecedented one: utilizing the U.S. government in negotiations to fight on the White House card next summer in Washington D.C.

“I’m not negotiating with the UFC on behalf of myself for this fight like usual. I'm negotiating with the United States of America on behalf of Ireland for this fight,” McGregor said, via The Independent.

Conor McGregor Could Return Next Year

(Zuffa LLC)

If McGregor were to return to MMA, it would be his first fight since July 2021 when he suffered an unfortunate leg break at the hands of Dustin Poirier in their UFC 264 trilogy fight.

McGregor was set to return to the Octagon at UFC 303 last June, but fell victim to a toe injury causing his fight with former TUF 31 coach Michael Chandler to be postponed altogether.

McGregor previously said fighting at the White House was a long-term goal of his. Now, with the event tentatively scheduled for June, the anticipation of a potential comeback couldn’t be more apparent.

Chandler told Fox News that he still wants the McGregor fight as much as McGregor does, having patiently waited since 2023 without a final chapter to the TUF story.

Chandler has been gunning for McGregor despite several failed attempts at making the fight. Nevertheless, though, it’s a fight that, if it can happen logistically, probably will.

But that remains to be seen.

Chandler has gone through his own struggles as of late, failing to string together consecutive wins over the last few years. Chandler lost to Paddy Pimblett in his last outing at UFC 314 in April after falling short just months earlier at UFC 309 against Charles Oliveira at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“Obviously, that seems like it is on the horizon,” Chandler said. “He has said he wants to fight me. I said I wanna fight him. And the White House sure does make a lot of sense. It's the biggest fight that we could possibly ask for, right? It checks all of the boxes. Time will tell. A lot of things are up in the air, so to speak.”

For now, the fight remains in limbo despite UFC CEO Dana White still sticking to the notion that the White House event will go off without issue.