It’s been nearly five years since Conor McGregor last stepped into the cage, and many believe he’ll never return. But for the past couple of months, “The Notorious” has been training seriously and demanding a fight. This July for International Fight Week, the UFC may just give it to him.
The UFC just wrapped up its latest London card, and there weren’t a whole lot of positives from the event to discuss. So it’s not surprising that UFC CEO Dana White (who disappeared from cageside halfway through the main
card and never returned) was happy to talk about anything other than the show at the post-fight press conference.
“With Conor coming back, now you have Ian Garry and Conor McGregor,” a reporter asked. “Are we coming back to Ireland soon?”
“That’s a great question … definitely not with those fights,” White replied. “But yes, I love Ireland too. Would love to go back to Dublin, do a show there, and we’re definitely taking Zuffa Boxing to Ireland too. But the Conor Garry fight won’t be in Ireland.”
That was an interesting way to put it: ‘the Conor Garry fight.’ Is the UFC planning to put Conor McGregor against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 329 on Jul 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada? McGregor has been preparing for a potential return fight on International Fight Week at welterweight, which is where Garry competes. And Garry is available and unbooked at the moment.
But given the context of the question, Dana White could just have stumbled over his words, accidentally suggesting Conor vs. Garry is a thing instead of saying neither Conor McGregor nor Ian Garry would be a part of a Dublin card. Why the UFC would consistently leave it’s biggest Irish fighters off its Ireland cards is beyond us, but with the matchmaking we’ve witnessed this year it’s not exactly a surprise.
Sources close to McGregor’s camp are currently silent on potential McGregor opponents. The only info we have is that the Irish sports star is seriously preparing for July 11th and will fight anyone … but a new deal with UFC must be signed before that can happen. McGregor’s manager Audie Attar was in Las Vegas meeting with UFC brass two weeks ago. While there is a lot of speculation that things are moving in the right direction, nothing is signed yet.
What do you think of a potential Ireland vs. Ireland showdown between Conor McGregor and Ian Machado Garry, if that is the fight the UFC is going for next? Let us know in the comments below.
