Dana White is keeping his cards close to the chest when it comes to booking UFC White House fights. And he’s definitely not committing to anything involving Conor McGregor and Jon Jones.
Though McGregor and Jones rank among the biggest stars in UFC history, neither has been particularly active over the past five years, with Jones having fought twice since 2020 and McGregor remaining on the sidelines since 2021. Still, with UFC White House event expected to take place in June, the fighters have repeatedly
stated their interest in competing on the historic card.
In an interview with Complex, White was asked about the possibility of McGregor stepping back into the octagon for a long-awaited showdown with Michael Chandler, and he offered a cool response.
“No, that was a couple of years ago,” White said. “No.”
McGregor and Chandler were actually scheduled to headline UFC 303 in June 2024 after serving as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 31. It was to be McGregor’s return to competition following a lengthy layoff in which he spent time recovering from a broken leg suffered in a fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, promoting his role in the film Road House, teased a run for the presidency of Ireland that ultimately fizzled, and dealt with legal issues, including being found liable for sexual assault in a civil case tied to allegations from 2018.
Long story short, despite McGregor’s insistence that he is a changed man and the gears are in motion for him to fight at the White House, it’s unclear if White and the UFC are on the same page.
“We’ll see if Conor’s going to come back or not,” White said. “We’ve been talking about it for a while. We’ll see how it plays out.”
As for Jones, the former two-division champion announced his retirement in June 2025, only to quickly reverse course when President Donald Trump announced plans for the White House event. White has made it clear he doesn’t trust Jones—who, like McGregor, has a troubled history of outside-the-cage issues that have interfered with his career—to show up for the important occasion, even with current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira showing interest in being Jones’ comeback fight.
“At 205?” White said of Jones vs. Pereira. “Yeah, that would be a fight. But can I count on Jon Jones? Can’t have Jon Jones doing something bad or pulling out of the f*cking White House fight.”
As of now, no UFC White House fights have been announced or reported, and White says don’t expect that to change until his promotion completes its first event of 2026, UFC 324 on Jan. 24.
“Nothing yet,” White said when asked for fight news. “We literally just got all the logistics done. It will be 5,000 seats in the South Lawn. Fighters will walk from the Oval Office. We’ve got all that shit dialed in.
“Now, Jan. 23 is Zuffa Boxing. Jan. 24 is the first UFC and then after that card we’ll start working on the White House fights.”
