Dana White updates status of meeting with Conor McGregor, potential Khabib Nurmagomedov fight

Dana White’s expected meeting with Conor McGregor in Liverpool didn’t work out as planned, however the UFC president expects to see McGregor soon stateside, where the two will try to figure out the Irishman’s next move.

“Conor and I are going to meet in Vegas,” White said Sunday at the UFC Liverpool post-fight press conference. “… He and I haven’t seen each since New York. So we haven’t seen each other, we haven’t talked, nothing, so we need to get together soon.”

White reiterated his past comments that McGregor’s UFC future currently hinges on how things play out June 14, when McGregor is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom as a result of his April 5 attack on a UFC fighter bus following UFC 223 media day in Brooklyn. McGregor is facing three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief for his actions.

“[What happens next with him] depends on what goes on with him in New York in June,” White explained.

“We can’t determine anything about what’s next for him until June is cleared up.”

McGregor, 29, hasn’t competed in MMA since becoming the UFC’s first two-division simultaneous titleholder with a knockout win over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205. McGregor has since been stripped of both of titles, featherweight and lightweight, due to his inactivity.

With McGregor out of action, undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov has seized the throne as 155-pound champion. Given the rivalry that exists between the two, a long-awaited matchup between Nurmagomedov and McGregor has the potential to become the biggest fight in MMA history. Nurmagomedov even sent a message to McGregor this weekend, warning the Irishman that while he has been away, “the game has changed.”

And according to White, as long as McGregor is able to clear up his legal trouble, a Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor pairing could very well be in the cards for 2018.

“I’m pretty confident that that is the fight that Conor wants, and I’m pretty confident that that is the fight that Khabib wants,” White said. “So, yeah, I could see that happening.”