With every passing week, it looks like the goal posts are being adjusted for when fans can expect to see Conor McGregor return to the Octagon.

He made the decision to withdraw from his planned comeback fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June to a broken toe that he wished to recover from.

McGregor appears to be targeting December which is yet to have any fights announced but Dana White's recent comments clarified where the UFC is at with this right now.

During his post-fight press conference following the return of the Contender Series, he gave this update on his communications with "The Notorious".

We talked yeah, we didn't meet up but we talked and yeah, he wants to fight so we'll figure it out.

When asked how soon that may be, White clarified that McGregor will not be fighting in 2024.

Not this year, he won't fight this year.

McGregor responded to these comments via social media with his own post that once again pushed for the fight to take place in December, stating that he has already planned out his preparations for this time frame.

MMA Fans React To Conor McGregor's 2024 Return Being Ruled Out

This update was obviously disappointing for a lot of fans on social media who appear to be coming to the realization that we might never see McGregor step back inside the Octagon after this long and drawn out process.

It wasn't ideal to have him withdraw from UFC 303 but the Irishman seemed to be committed to taking some time to heal, before diving right back into his training, postponing the fight rather than cancelling it altogether.

Even Chandler, who has been put through the ringer in the past few months, seems to be ready to move on at this stage.

"How does he go from a toe injury to not fighting this year… Ridiculous"

"It’s over, he’s never fighting again."

"Idk why y’all still allowing yourselves to be strung along. McGregor and Dana are playing games. If Conor was serious this would’ve already happened. If he’s not done yet, he’s definitely close to the end. Don’t know what he’s trying to prove but this is getting sad."

"Unreal. This has become comical at this point. I’d love to know what the excuse is this time."

"Michael Chandler putting the red panties away. Maybe next year."

"it's been "not this year" for the passed three years. hang it up already."

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