Conor McGregor’s UFC White House dreams dashed as new return date emerges

The UFC White House card is expected to be announced next week, and it appears Conor McGregor won’t feature.

The Irishman had been the frontrunner to top the unprecedented bill on June 14.

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McGregor revealed last month that he had accepted a date and venue for his first fight in five years.

And while most assumed this meant he was locked in for a bout at President Donald Trump‘s official residence, esteemed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani is reporting that McGregor’s comeback will fall a touch later.

Why is Conor McGregor unlikely to fight on the UFC White House card?

Addressing the situation on his YouTube channel, Helwani said: “It doesn’t look like it’s gonna be Conor on the White House card.

“They have an International Fight Week card scheduled for July 11 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena.

“There’s a greater chance of him fighting on that card than on the White House card.

“Because, as I have told you, there’s no money to be made from the White House event.

“In fact, they keep touting the fact that there is money to be lost from the White House event.”

The UFC White House event is set to be one of the most expensive cards in the company’s history.

TKO chief Mark Shapiro recently revealed that it will cost $60m (£44.3m) to stage the show and insisted that the UFC will not turn a profit.

“I want to be clear about something: we will not profit from the White House event independently,” said Shapiro.

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“We will not be making money on America’s 250th anniversary.

“Bottom line is, it’s still a moving target.

“Even if that $60m goes up, or rides up on us, we believe we can offset half of the spend.

“Today, we see it as $60m offsetting $30m.”

Who could headline the UFC White House card instead?

With McGregor seemingly out of the running, Alex Pereira is now the favourite to headline the UFC White House card.

The Brazilian superstar recently vacated his UFC light heavyweight title with a view to moving up to heavyweight to pursue a world title in a third separate weight class.

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Helwani claims there have been talks for Pereira to face Jon Jones at the White House, but that there hasn’t been a “ton of forward momentum”.

If the UFC isn’t able to get the fight over the line, then a bout with Ciryl Gane is also being considered.