Dana White on Conor McGregor: 'I guarantee he will not fight in 2020'

Conor McGregor remains one of the most popular names in UFC, but according to Dana White, the Irish brawler won't be entering the Octagon again until at least 2021. The UFC President appeared on Barstool's "My Mom's Basement" podcast and made it clear that McGregor won't be fighting for UFC in 2020.

"This year, he is retired," White said. "He doesn't have a fight this year, and he won't have a fight this year. Conor McGregor will not fight in 2020. ... I guarantee he will not fight in 2020."

McGregor announced his retirement on Twitter back in June and told ESPN that he simply did not find the sport exciting anymore. If he is serious about retirement, he goes out as arguably the most popular fighter in UFC history, with a  22-4 MMA record that includes 19 knockouts. His last fight was against Donald Cerrone in January, as McGregor managed to beat him by TKO in just 40 seconds.

But many fans believe that McGregor isn't really done. and they have a fair amount of reason to believe he is coming back, including McGregor tweeting "I accept" last week in response to Russian-born fighter Khamzat Chimaev expressing his desire to face him. 

Yet according to White, even if McGregor does decide to head back to professional fighting, it won't be until 2021. It's not an unreasonable claim to make, as we are more than halfway through the year, still very much in a pandemic, and McGregor would likely need some time to get back into fighting shape.