After all the rumors and speculation, it does not seem like Conor McGregor’s UFC return will take place on the UFC White House card.
This news comes courtesy of Ariel Helwani, who provided an update on plans for the June 14 event in the U.S. national capital, held as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebration.
In a video discussing the aftermath of the Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg light heavyweight title fight announcement, Helwani dropped that the chances that McGregor competes in Washington, D.C are not positive.
That doesn’t mean, Helwani says, that McGregor won’t fight at all in 2026. In fact, Helwani speculates there’s a better chance McGregor competes in the main event of UFC’s International Fight Week event — which he revealed will be on July 11 in Las Vegas.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be Conor on the White House card,” Helwani said. “They have an International Fight Week card scheduled for July 11 in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. There’s a greater chance of him fighting on that card than on the White House card.”
Could Conor McGregor Fight At International Fight Week in 2026?
Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s first tease of a UFC event on the White House lawn last summer, several fighters have campaigned to be featured at the event. McGregor, in fact, was one of the very first names.
McGregor has gone through the process of “unretiring,” and it’s recently been revealed that he has been drug tested three times in the first two months of 2026.
Helwani, however, explains the UFC probably prefers McGregor compete on a numbered card for the chance to increase profit, attendance figures, and viewership numbers for a card that won’t have the White House’s unique appeal, citing financials.
“As I’ve told you, there’s no money to be made [from the White House event],” Helwani said. “In fact, they keep touting the fact that there’s money to be lost from the White House event. No one’s crying for them. I think they made like $850 million last year, according to what was released.”
UFC CEO and President Dana White recently announced he will announce the White House card and its main event in the coming days.
Michael Chandler has previously advocated for a long-awaited fight with McGregor to take place at UFC White House, but White shot that down in January.
McGregor and Chandler, after coaching season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, were scheduled to face off at UFC 303 before McGregor withdrew weeks before the event.
McGregor has been open about fighting even “a no name” to return to the UFC.
McGregor, who has two fights left on his UFC contract, hasn’t fought since losing his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Since then, he’s had an unsuccessful bid for the Irish presidency and has had sexual assault allegations against him, including being found liable for the rape of Nikita Hand in 2018.
