{"id":635044,"date":"2026-04-27T23:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T23:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/635044\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T23:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T23:33:20","slug":"ufc-reportedly-has-big-plans-for-conor-mcgregor-and-islam-makhachev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/635044\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Reportedly Has Big Plans For Conor McGregor And Islam Makhachev"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4y\">The UFC&#8217;s summer schedule could shape up to be one of the biggest in recent memory, and most certainly the biggest splash of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-s-new-paramount-plus-era-features-critical-flat-fee-full-fight-access-in-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Paramount+-UFC relationship<\/a> should everything go according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-star-conor-mcgregor-takes-aim-doubters-ufc-return-fight-promise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">plan with Conor McGregor<\/a> and Islam <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/islam-makhachev-s-reported-ufc-welterweight-title-defense-reignites-huge-ufc-rivalry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Makhachev&#8217;s UFC returns,<\/a> respectively.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"51\">The UFC is scheduled to return to Las Vegas for its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-ceo-dana-white-drops-massive-hint-for-conor-mcgregor-long-awaited-return-fight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">annual International Fight Week <\/a>event, a staple of the promotion every summer, where MMA fans gather in and around the premises of the T-Mobile Arena to celebrate combat sports as a whole.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"54\">It will culminate with UFC 329 on Saturday, July 11, and according to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/2048839994123444734\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Uncrowned Combat&#8217;s <\/a>Ariel Helwani, it could mark the long-awaited return of the former UFC two-division champion, McGregor, who has not fought since July 2021. McGregor was on the wrong end of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-legend-dustin-poirier-takes-parting-shot-at-conor-mcgregor-ufc-comeback-fight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">2-1 series against Dustin Poirier<\/a>, suffering a leg injury in the main event of UFC 264.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"57\">Sources close to the situation told Helwani that McGregor&#8217;s comeback is reportedly scheduled for that date in a would-be rematch with former UFC &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-star-conor-mcgregor-confirms-return-plans-first-ufc-fight-since-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BMF&#8221; Champion Max Holloway.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5a\">Helwani&#8217;s reporting coincides with one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/03\/25\/conor-mcgregor-announces-ufc-comeback\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">McGregor&#8217;s latest Instagram posts,<\/a> all but confirming he&#8217;s training for a return fight.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5d\">It also lines up perfectly with <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/z-77UM3zNCM?si=QLDKl7z1F2VXn-q3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a new interview <\/a>UFC CEO Dana White did with New York City street reporter Adam Glynn.<\/p>\n<p>Conor McGregor Inching Closer To UFC Comeback<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kq8becjhbwkecpw0qm.jpg\" alt=\"Conor McGregor and Dana White at UFC 264\" title=\"Conor McGregor and Dana White at UFC 264\" width=\"3636\" height=\"2045\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"5q\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jul 9, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Conor McGregor is greeted by UFC president Dana White during weigh ins for UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\">&#8220;Yes, absolutely,&#8221; White said about a McGregor return this year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">One month later, Helwani also reported that Makhachev is targeted to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship against Ian Machado Garry in the main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia, PA. It would serve as the main event should the fight happen, which Machado Garry is agitated about, given the mixed signals Makhachev has sent in recent weeks about his health and when he&#8217;s ready to fight.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"60\">Should both of these fights happen, it should set up for an unbelievable summer of UFC action. <\/p>\n<p>UFC&#8217;s Upcoming Schedule<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01jvgehcxz6vdvc8jp3w.jpg\" alt=\"UFC Octagon\" title=\"UFC Octagon\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6d\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jeff Bottari-Zuffa LL<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">The promotion is set to begin its summer with a massive UFC White House event Sunday, June 14, in Washington, D.C. with two championship fights at the top of the card: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight title, and an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Cyril Gane.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">We will see if the UFC can deliver both of these main events, as the year has gotten off to a relatively slow start in terms of big fights that captivate wide audiences. If it can, it could be a crazy next few months of big fights to look forward to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UFC&#8217;s summer schedule could shape up to be one of the biggest in recent memory, and most&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-635044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}