UFC president Dana White has seemingly denied Conor McGregor his wish of fighting Michael Chandler in June, insisting the bout will likely take place after summer.
The two-weight UFC champion has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021.
He was expected to return to the octagon last year against Chandler with both fighters appearing as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter TV series.
But McGregor's absence from the USADA testing pool prevented that fight from happening in 2023.
Dana White wants Conor McGregor to fight after the summer
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The 35-year-old returned to the testing pool in the end, but USADA and UFC parted ways heading into 2024.
McGregor got the ball rolling prior to New Year's Eve by announcing on social media he will be making the "greatest comeback of all time" UFC's International Fight Week in Las Vegas against Chandler in June 2024.
He also announced the weight would be set at 185 pounds - a weight neither fighter has fought at before.
Chandler downplayed McGregor's announcement at the time, admitting he was unaware an official date had been agreed.
Now White has confirmed that there is still no date set for McGregor's comeback fight in the UFC.
There had been some hope that McGregor would be lining up for UFC 302 at the very latest on June 29.
But the UFC president has suggested the fight might not happen until after the summer.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee show, White said: "There is no date.
Conor McGregor is set to fight Michael Chandler
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"I'm hoping for the fall.
"It's seemingly the latest delay to McGregor's comeback after he was denied the chance to fight last year.
But White doesn't seem fazed about holding McGregor back, insisting 2024 is set to be a big year for UFC.
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Conor McGregor will have to wait for his UFC return
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"There's a storyline to every fight and we lay out basically what that is," White added.
"When you think about it, this year we got Super Bowl stuff this weekend, we got Anaheim which is a great card next week.
"We got UFC 300 which is coming up, we got International Fight Week, we have the big show at the Sphere that we're talking about.
"We're going back to Abu Dhabi in October and Conor will fight this year. It's going to be a fun year."
