‘Locked in’ – Conor McGregor plan for UFC White House return revealed as coach provides major update

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Conor McGregor is ‘all in’ for a huge comeback at the UFC White House.The Irishman has already revealed his interest in fighting at the UFC White House card in June, but his long-time coach, John Kavanagh, has now provided a significant update on his plans to return.McGregor’s last fight ended in disaster, as he snapped his leg at the very end of the first roundGettyThe 37-year-old hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.He has since become a co-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and most of his time in the combat sports world has been spent with the promotion.However, in October McGregor sparked bedlam in the MMA world when he said his comeback fight was signed, asserting it was a ‘done deal’ for him to feature at the UFC White House card, which is expected to take place in June.Now, Kavanagh, who coached McGregor to becoming the first ever UFC champion to hold two titles simultaneously, says the 37-year-old has already tasked him with putting together a plan for his return.Conor McGregor training ‘most mornings’ ahead of UFC White House, says coach“We’re 100 per cent in,” Kavanagh explained on The Ariel Helwani Show.“He’s asked me to basically lay out a programme between now and June of how we’ll ramp up our training. “He’s showing up again, he’s back in the gym most mornings, early, and yeah, he’s having fun with it… he wants to fight everybody. “But certainly he wants to get on [the UFC White House] card, so how it works from a management point of view, that’s between them.“I don’t really get involved in that, but from a training point of view, he’s already tasked me with putting together a team of suitable training partners. “We’ll do some of it in the gym, some of it in his house. So he’s fully locked in that we’re going to be making the walk in — what is it, six, seven months?Kavanagh said he likes Michael Chandler, who McGregor was meant to fight in June 2024, as a potential opponentGETTYView Tweet: https://t.co/P6zYZtdJMhWhen pressed on if he believes McGregor has the motivation to make a return, Kavanagh added: “If it’s Conor’s choice, he’s in.“I don’t know how it will work with UFC… the last one we were so freaking close until he clipped [his sparring partner] on the elbow.”McGregor was originally scheduled to make his fighting return in the main event of UFC 303 against Michael Chandler last year.However, ‘The Notorious’ pulled out at the last minute as he sustained a foot injury while sparring.McGregor and Chandler coached together on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in 2023, which usually ends with both fighters settling their differences in the octagon.Chandler has been very open about still wanting to make the fight with McGregor happen, and coach Kavanagh likes that match-up for McGregor.Kavanagh: I’d love McGregor vs Michael ChandlerMcGregor is most likely to fight Chandler at the White House and his coach loves that match-up“So look, we just got to get back there again,” Kavanagh concluded.“I think Chandler’s not being quiet about wanting to be that guy — the match-up makes sense.“I think it’ll be a fun one… I’d love it. I think they kind of have a bit of a spark between them. “They’ve done some stuff together before. I think it’ll be a fun fight week, press conference, all of that.“Style-wise, that kind of shorter, stocky wrestler. He’s faced a few of those in his day. And yeah, I’m in the mindset that that’s what we’re doing.“So we’re already beginning our training for that [kind of opponent].” UFC White House is expected to take place on Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14.Dana White, the UFC’s CEO and President, has already shared remarkable renderings of how the mega-event will look on fight night.