UFC CEO Dana White says that he is no longer entertaining superstar Conor McGregor fighting Michael Chandler at the White House event.
Ahead of the UFC’s first event of the year, and more importantly the first event with their new broadcast partner in Paramount, company CEO Dana White has been doing the media rounds and changed his stance on the biggest question in the sport.
🚨 Dana White says he is NOT interested in booking Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler at the UFC White House card 😬
"That was a couple years ago. No."
(via @Complex) pic.twitter.com/Tirsmy5PJA
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 15, 2026
For the past several months since it was announced, the UFC boss has been asked at nearly every media appearance about the event being held at the White House later this year. Specifically, which fights will be on the card and of course which matchup will get the honor of headlining the seminal event. The frontrunner has been the the sport’s biggest mainstream star Conor McGregor taking on his opposing coach from The Ultimate Fighter reality series Michael Chandler. In interviews throughout 2025, White made several comments acknowledging McGregor’s commitment to being on the card and saying how he can count on McGregor with such a responsibility as opposed to another superstar in Jon Jones.
However, in an interview Thursday morning with Matt Welty of Complex, White was asked once again about McGregor vs Chandler headlining the event. Specifically, Welty asked “I know there’s all that talk of Michael Chandler and Conor, do you see that as a realistic thing?” to which White responded “No. That was a couple years ago.”
When Welty followed up “So that’s nothing you’d entertain for the White House?” White reiterated. “No. No.”
Considering the amount of attention on the event since nearly a year out from the date, many have felt that the addition of a superstar like McGregor or Jones (perhaps even both) to the card would make it potentially one of the most viewed events in UFC history. When Jones reportedly turned down a record $30 million for a fight with Tom Aspinall that was verbally agreed to, it appeared that White and the UFC were moving forward in favor of McGregor taking the spot by himself. Further, the idea of McGregor headlining the event was bolstered considering he was invited to the office and even spoke with the White House press while there which seemed to indicate he was in the place where he’d be favored to get the privilege.
Should White stand by these most recent comments as the event draws nearer, it is now anyone’s guess who they might choose to headline their most talked about card in years.
