Dana White Hints When Conor McGregor's Next Fight Will Be

UFC president Dana White has appeared to suggest that Conor McGregor will not fight in the UFC until September.

It was announced on Monday that No.4 ranked lightweight Justin Gaethje will replace current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event at UFC 249.

Of course, number one contender Tony Ferguson was billed to face the undefeated Russian, with Khabib's lightweight title on the line, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has put an end to the fight, with Khabib unable to travel as he's grounded in Russia.

Things have been up in the air for a while but in a recent interview, UFC president Dana White has since updated fans, announcing that the UFC are close to securing a private island to host fights.

"I am a day or two away from securing a private island," White told ESPN.

"I have a private island that I've secured; we're getting the infrastructure put in now, so I'm gonna start doing the international fights, too.

"With international fighters, because I won't be able to get international fighters into the U.S., I have a private island that I'm gonna start flying them all in and doing international fights from there.

"So as of April 18th, the UFC is back up and running."

White also spoke briefly about Conor McGregor's future in the interview.

He hinted that the Irishman will not fight until September, with the winner of Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje set to face Khabib after UFC 249, leaving McGregor with no lightweight opponents for the forseeable future.

"This impacts everybody," he said. "There's three fights that have already been postponed that we're going to have to figure out.

"I don't know where this puts anybody, because Conor really wanted that rematch with Khabib. Well...Khabib, Tony or Gaethje won't fight probably until September.

"Nobody saw this coming, but it happened and we're rolling with it. We're going to get it figured out."

Thoughts on the upcoming bout at UFC 249? Who should Conor McGregor fight next?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, Dana White

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_