Dana White addresses Conor McGregor anti-doping ban and what it means for White House fight

Dana White has reiterated that matchmaking for the UFC’s planned White House fight event will not take place until 2026, amid questions over Conor McGregor’s involvement.

McGregor has not fought since suffering a broken leg in 2021, and the former champion was this month handed an anti-doping ban over whereabouts failures.

The 18-month suspension, backdated to September 2024, will expire in March 2026 – three months before the UFC Octagon is set to take over the South Lawn.

UFC president White recently countered McGregor’s claim that a White House fight with Michael Chandler was “signed” and a “done deal”, insisting that matchmaking will not begin until February.

And White doubled down on that claim on Tuesday, when asked about McGregor’s potential involvement at the White House.

“We’re not even looking at the White House Card until February,” White said at a press conference. “We have literally not talked about one fight on the White House card yet. We won’t even start until February.”

Addressing McGregor’s anti-doping ban specifically, White added, “Whether [Conor] is available or not, talk to [Jeff] Novitzky about that,” referencing the UFC’s Senior Vice-President of Athlete Health and Performance.

McGregor, 37, was hit with the ban after three whereabouts failures. A statement released by the UFC on 7 October read: “Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced today that Conor McGregor, of Dublin, Ireland, has accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP).

“McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC ADP. UFC athletes are required to provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without prior warning.

“McGregor’s missed tests occurred on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, and were each classified as Whereabouts Failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.

“Although McGregor failed to make himself available for testing on those dates, CSAD noted that he was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for an upcoming fight at the time of the three missed tests. McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.

“Despite these mitigating factors, CSAD emphasizes that accurate whereabouts filings and the ability to conduct unannounced testing are essential to the success of the UFC ADP. Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months.

“His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third whereabouts failure) and will conclude on March 20, 2026.”

McGregor was due to return to the Octagon in June 2024 but sustained a broken toe, withdrawing from a planned fight with Chandler on two weeks’ notice.

More recently, the Irishman has involved himself in politics, but last month he ceased his pursuit of becoming president of his country. He said the nation’s eligibility criteria was a “straitjacket”.

McGregor has also battled numerous legal issues in recent years and, in November, a civil jury found in favour of a woman who had accused him of rape in 2018. McGregor was found liable for assault, and his appeal against the verdict failed in July, but he continues to deny all allegations against him.