UFC fans left confused by Dana White 'fumble' during Conor McGregor return announcement

Dana White has finally confirmed when Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the UFC.

It is nearly three years since McGregor last fought in the octagon back at UFC 264, where he suffered a horrific leg break against Dustin Poirier - an injury which threatened his career.

After a long period away, McGregor is now set to make his return this summer.

Speaking after UFC 300, White officially announced that McGregor will face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29.

When asked why the fight had been planned for such a long time without being officially confirmed, White revealed that McGregor has only recently been able to train for his return due to external commitments – including making his Hollywood debut in Road House.

"It's not that we've been working on it for ages," said White. "There are all kinds of things that go on behind the scenes.

"It's all about timing. Chandler has been ready but Conor hasn't been ready. We talked about this at one of the press conferences recently, he had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with.

"What you don't want him doing is accepting a fight when he's got a ton of obligations and he can't train 100 per cent for a fight."

UFC fans expressed their excitement on social media after White's announcement.

However, some fans questioned why the UFC president chose to announce it during UFC 300's post-event news conference, rather than during the live broadcast.

"Ngl the fact that they didn't announce McGregor vs Chandler during the UFC 300 broadcast feels like a major fumble," wrote one fan on X.

"Dropping an announcement video right after the BMF fight would have broken the internet," added another.

While a third joked: "Too busy showing us the same DraftKings commercial for the 8203th time."

However, other fans believe White made the right decision to leave the McGregor announcement until after the historic event.

"No. 300 didn't need the extra pop. So why spoil the moment," posted one fan.

While another simply put: "It's Conor. They really don't need to."

Featured Image Credit: UFC

Topics: UFC, Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler, Dana White, MMA, Fan Reactions

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan