Dana White has offered a new update on Conor McGregor and Jon Jones’ chance of competing on next year’s White House card, and it’s a mixed bag of hope.
The planned 2026 UFC event on the lawn of the White House is set to be, arguably, the most important in the MMA promotion’s history. The card for the event will be stacked because of its importance, but also because so many UFC fighters want to be a part of the historic event.
Two of the most notable are retired former heavyweight champion Jon Jones and unofficially retired one-time two-division king Conor McGregor. Both have stated publicly their desire to end their hiatus and return to the Octagon for such a historic event. Yet, their boss hasn’t been overly confident about that possibility.
The Irishman has claimed in recent weeks that he will definitely fight at the event. However, White said earlier this month, matchups for the White House card have not even been discussed yet. However, in a new update, it is looking more likely that the most famous fighter in MMA history could be fighting in the main event.
“He and I actually talked today, and he seems like he’s in a good place, mentally, emotionally, and now he’s got to physically get ready if he wants to fight on that card,” White told Al Arabiya. “If we can get the motivated, fired-up Conor McGregor from the past back, then maybe he’ll be headlining the White House.”
Jon Jones is still unlikely to fight at UFC White House card
While White seems to be leaning more towards McGregor being on the historic card in June, things still don’t look good when it comes to Jones’ hopes of being on the event.
“I don’t know. We’ll see,” he said. “Jon retired, and he wants to fight at the White House. The likelihood of him fighting at the White House is, I don’t know. I don’t see it happening.”
Jones continues to make a public push to be on the card. However, he is in the Dana White dog house after he proved difficult in completing an agreement for a unification fight with Tom Aspinall this year. Plus, White has said recently, he doesn’t trust Jones’ reliability to make the date for the event.
