Conor McGregor is ramping up his training regimen in anticipation of a potential UFC comeback next year. His longtime coach, John Kavanagh, revealed that the former two-division UFC champion is keen to secure a spot on the White House card.
This comes after President Donald Trump expressed his desire to host a UFC event on the South Lawn back in July. UFC boss Dana White gave the green light for the event, which is slated for Trump’s 80th birthday on June 14.
A number of fighters, including McGregor, have thrown their hats in the ring for this historic event. However, McGregor hasn’t fought since his loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
He was scheduled to face Michael Chandler last year but had to withdraw due to an injury. Recently, the 37-year-old has been hinting at another UFC return, and Kavanagh has provided fresh insights into his star pupil’s ambitions.
“We’re 100 percent in,” Kavanagh announced on The Ariel Helwani Show. “He’s asked me to basically lay out a program between now and June of how we’ll ramp up our training.”
“He’s showing up again, he’s back in the gym most mornings, early, and yeah, he’s having fun with it… he wants to fight everybody. But certainly he wants to get on [the UFC White House] card, so how it works from a management point of view, that’s between them.
“I don’t really get involved in that, but from a training point of view, he’s already tasked me with putting together a team of suitable training partners. We’ll do some of it in the gym, some of it in his house. So he’s fully locked in that we’re going to be making the walk in – what is it, six, seven months?”
Last month, the Dublin fighter revealed that his UFC comeback was confirmed. However, White sharply rejected the Irishman’s statements, insisting that the White House card would start taking form in February.
Concerning a potential opponent, McGregor is determined to resolve things with Chandler. The pair acted as opposing coaches on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ series back in 2023, but have yet to clash in the octagon. Chandler himself is convinced that a fight will happen, and Kavanagh is completely behind the matchup.
“So look, we just got to get back there again,” he concluded. “I think Chandler’s not being quiet about wanting to be that guy – the match-up makes sense. I think it’ll be a fun one… I’d love it. I think they kind of have a bit of a spark between them.
“They’ve done some stuff together before. I think it’ll be a fun fight week, press conference, all of that. Style-wise, that kind of shorter, stocky wrestler. He’s faced a few of those in his day. And yeah, I’m in the mindset that that’s what we’re doing.
“So we’re already beginning our training for that [kind of opponent].”