White also stated, in an interview on Undisputed, that the winner of the UFC 219 fight between Edson Barboza and Khabib Nurmagomedov could determine the next fight for Ferguson while he is awaiting the return of McGregor.
Initial plans were to have Conor McGregor fight this weekend.
It was hoped that McGregor would return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 219 to defend his title and see 2017 out in style but discussions on that were given the kibosh after his ill-advised antics at a Bellator event in Dublin.
The director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, the governing body which oversaw Bellator 187, revealed that ‘The Notorious’ was told he would not be able to compete on December 30 due to his behaviour with referee Marc Goddard and a Bellator commissioner during his close friend Charlie Ward’s victory over John Redmond last month.
And it looks like we will have to wait some time before we see McGregor back in the Octagon as UFC President Dana White has revealed his plans for the organisation’s UFC lightweight champion and undisputed pay-per-view king.
“Let’s get through the holidays and hopefully he starts to get the itch to come back and hopefully we can get him back this summer,” White told ESPN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG5wr46q-pY
With regards to a potential opponent for McGregor, who hasn’t fought in the UFC since November 2016, White insisted that the Irishman would have to defend his 155lbs crown.
“What we have to do is – he needs to defend that title,” White told FOX Sports’ Undisputed.
There is no shortage of fighters eager to experience the kind of payday that accompanies fights with McGregor and even the likes of Manny Pacquiao are desperate to compete opposite the Dubliner.
But White maintains that the UFC’s interim lightweight champion will be next up for McGregor if and when he returns. He said:
“Tony Ferguson is the fight right now and is the move if [McGregor] wants to come back.”
