Dana White is getting closer to pinning down a return date for Conor McGregor’s comeback.

Tuesday marks exactly 38 months since McGregor’s most recent fight, a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 that was made all the worse by “The Notorious” breaking his leg in the contest. The injury sidelined McGregor for an extended period of time and he hasn’t competed since, raising questions as to the state of his competitive future.

McGregor has filled his time starring in movies (including the 2024 hit Road House), as well as signing on for an executive position in the fast-rising BKFC promotion. He was scheduled to fight rival Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this past June, but withdrew from that date due to injury. As of now, UFC CEO Dana White is optimistic that his biggest box office draw will be back at the start of next year.

“Let me tell you this, I was the one this year saying I don’t think he’s going to fight this year, amid all the talk and everything else,” White told New York Post Sports. “Even the fight being set up in the press conference.

“Conor McGregor will fight next year, early 2025. He’s had so much time off, as far as the hunger, he’s a very wealthy guy. We’ll find out. We’ll find out when he comes back, but he is definitely one of the big superstars of the sport that elevated the UFC all throughout Europe and other parts of the world. He’s been a big star and a great partner for us.”

Should McGregor step back into the octagon as planned, he seeks his first win since a 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020. Since that victory, he has suffered back-to-back losses to his longtime rival Poirier.

Despite the fighter frequently mentioning that he would like to fight in December, White has held firm that it’s unlikely we see McGregor return soon, and he told reporters this past August that the former two-division champion will not fight this year.

“We talked. We talked,” White said following the Aug. 13 episode of Dana White’s Contender Series. “We didn’t meet up but we talked, and yeah, he wants to fight. So we’ll figure it out.

“[But] not this year. He won’t fight this year.”

McGregor responded shortly after in a later-deleted tweet, writing, “Ah Dana, December is the date! Bring the calendar year home with a winning event! Come on now, what’s this? I am off to altitude next month to prepare. DECEMBER! Tell Dana and UFC WE WANT DECEMBER! WE DESERVE DECEMBER!”