Conor McGregor 'not in my plans for the next 10 months,' says UFC President Dana White

LAS VEGAS – Last time we heard from UFC lightweight champ and father-to-be Conor McGregor, he wouldn’t commit to the timetable given by the promotion for his return.

“I know (UFC President) Dana (White’s) been on record like, ’10 months – he’s taking 10 months off,'” McGregor told RTE earlier this month. “What do you say 10 months? Originally I thought the baby was being born in March and then it was May, so I was like maybe I could get another one. I just don’t know. I’m weighing out my options.”

“I’m ready for anything. I did say I was going to take a break, but a Christmas break, the holidays. At least give me the holidays off. So look, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

Hopes of seeing the champ back in action sooner rather than later, however, were once again shot down by White on Wednesday. Speaking to media during an all-encompassing scrum leading up to UFC 207, White reaffirmed the promotion’s expectations for McGregor’s (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) layoff.

“The last conversation that Conor and I had, he was taking 10 months off,” White said. “So everybody keeps talking – I’m not even thinking about Conor. Conor is not in my plans for the next 10 months, at all.

“Conor told me, ‘I’m not available for 10 months. We’re having a baby. My girl stresses out when I fight and I don’t want to put that on her while she’s pregnant.’ I love it. I respect it. I get it. Do your thing, buddy. And that’s it. He’s not in any of our plans for the next 10 months.”

While an interim title would seem like a reasonable solution to appease the top of the division during the champ’s absence, the scenario isn’t that simple there, either. A logical matchup between top contenders Khabib Nurmagumedov and Tony Ferguson, for instance, was shot down by the UFC president during that same scrum.

With these possibilities seemingly out of question, White was asked about 145-pound titleholder Jose Aldo – whose head coach and manager Andre Pederneiras said has already been in official 155-pound conversations aiming to one day rematch McGregor.

White then confirmed that Aldo is interested in fighting for the upper division’s interim belt and had in fact requested a fight with Nurmagumedov – but that the lightweight contender’s father said he needed time off.

“(Aldo) did ask for Khabib,” White said. “He asked for Khabib. Because Khabib is looked at as the guy in that weight division, and he wanted to fight him. Khabib’s dad didn’t want him to fight. Khabib’s dad wants him to rest.”

Does that mean White is willing to include Aldo in the interim title conversation?

“I’m up to do just about anything,” White said. “I like that fight – Khabib and Jose Aldo would be fun, I’m in.”

Check out the video above for more from White after the UFC 207 media day.

White’s full media scrum, including more thoughts on McGregor, Ronda Rousey and the newly-created women’s 145-pound division, can be seen here.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

view original article >>