Dana White has poured cold water on Conor McGregor’s claims that the date for his clash with Michael Chandler has been finalised.
The UFC boss was as confused as anyone when Notorious shared a photo of himself squaring off with a Teletubby to confirm his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
McGregor has been out of action since fracturing his tibia and fibula during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler has been pencilled in as the Irishman’s comeback opponent for more than a year.
The pair were rival coaches on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter with an idea for them to throw down late last year, but months on, a fight date is still yet to be officially confirmed.
McGregor has claimed he will face Chandler on June 29 – the date of UFC 303 – which he doubled down on minutes before the UFC 300 ceremonial weigh-ins.
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The 35-year-old shared a bizarre photo on Instagram of himself squaring off with a yellow Teletubby in front of a brick wall.
He captioned the post: “The fight is on!
“McGregor vs Chandler! See you on the date I said.”
However, UFC chief White played down claims of an announcement during the Power Slap 7 post-event presser.
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Having been quizzed on McGregor headlining UFC 303 during International Fight Week, White replied: “I saw the post.
“I don’t know what the Teletubby means, but it could be. Hopefully, that’s what we want to do.”
The 54-year-old added: “I can honestly sit here and tell you that we do not have a deal done for the Conor fight.
“I know there are a lot of rumblings and people expect the place to go black and some big f***ing announcement.
“They’re expecting them to walk out. It’s all internet bulls**t.”
McGregor recently shut down talk of retirement amid his longest wait between fights since he made his 2013 UFC debut.
The former two-division champion had taken a remarkable lack of damage prior to his leg break during his 28-fight (22-6) MMA career.
He has only ever been stopped once via strikes (his second fight with Poirier in 2021), with his other defeats all coming via submission.
News Summary:
- Dana White reacts as Conor McGregor squares off with Teletubby to make fight announcement
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