Dana White hints at alternative opponent not named Michael Chandler for Conor McGregor’s return at the White House

UFC CEO Dana White doubled down on his disinterest in granting Michael Chandler his long-awaited fight with Conor McGregor.

Michael Chandler has waited almost four full years since he initially called out Conor McGregor after a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281.

Chandler, who has lost three of his last four fights in the UFC, was supposed to fight McGregor at UFC 303 before the former two-division champion withdrew due to injury. The two stars squared off as coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 31.

After McGregor announced his intended comeback to the UFC at the upcoming White House event, Chandler was named as the most likely return opponent by McGregor. The UFC superstar hasn’t fought since injuring his leg against Poirier at UFC 264.

But UFC CEO Dana White has other ideas, as he alluded to in a recent interview with Complex. When approached about a possible McGregor vs. Chandler rebooking, White said the fight was ‘two years ago’ and that he wasn’t interested in making it come to fruition.

While Chandler admitted that White’s comments were discouraging, he recently said he still plans on fighting McGregor until he hears otherwise. In White’s latest media appearance, Chandler seemed to get his most detailed answer yet from the UFC head man.

Dana White confirms Michael Chandler is OUT of the mix for Conor McGregor fight

In a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, White doubled down on his stance against rebooking McGregor vs. Chandler.

“Monday, we’re all-in on the White House fights. We don’t have anything laid out, nothing yet. It’ll all start on Monday,” White said.

“And no disrespect to Chandler, we love Chandler. You don’t have enough time on your show for me to talk about how awesome Chandler is and how I feel about Conor, everything he’s done for the sport and this company. But that’s not the fight we’re going with.”

As of this writing, Chandler hasn’t responded to White’s latest remarks. He hasn’t fought since a loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314 last year.