Dana White 'confident' of Conor McGregor's impending UFC return, but 'there's no deal done'
· Yahoo Sports
UFC has been patiently waiting for the return of its all-time biggest superstar, Conor McGregor. But plenty has changed since the former two-division champion last fought nearly five years ago, including the promotion’s longtime pay-per-view model.
The UFC kicked off 2026 by starting its new $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount, which effectively removed the additional pay-per-view purchase for all of the organization’s numbered events. Those events are now included with a Paramount+ subscription at no extra charge — and fighters like McGregor, who previously earned an extra percentage of their pay-per-view points per fight, were arguably the most affected.
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Although McGregor has yet to return since his gruesome leg break in July 2021, others are being compensated in a new way. UFC CEO Dana White said Saturday that there’s a new system in place based on what big-name superstars previously made in the past era.
Is Conor McGregor fighting this year? All signs are pointing to yes.Chris Unger via Getty Images"There's a formula to it. McGregor's going to do just fine," White said at UFC 328’s post-fight press conference. "It's based on if you take the average of his pay-per-view buys, and what they do, there's an equation for that that you can — we've done it with a lot more guys than just McGregor."
McGregor, 37, last fought in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The rivals competed back-to-back after Poirier knocked out “The Notorious” in the rematch and then scored a first-round TKO in their final clash, with McGregor breaking his lower leg.
McGregor has since recovered and occupied his time elsewhere. The Irishman has had only one fight booked in the past five years, which was supposed to be against Michael Chandler in June 2024, though a broken toe ultimately led McGregor to withdraw just weeks before the bout.
White remains confident that McGregor will finally return this year, but still reiterated that no deal has been made official as of yet.
"There's no deal done with Conor. I was just saying I'm confident,” White said. “I was confident last year, too, but I'm way more confident this year.”