Dana White claims rumors of Conor McGregor vs. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone are ‘absolutely not true’

Following a submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last month at UFC 229, speculation over Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon has dominated the headlines.

While McGregor initially campaigned for a rematch against Nurmagomedov, he later backtracked and he claimed he was willing to fight whoever was next in line.

However, according to UFC President Dana White, any talk of the Irishman’s next fight is on hold until the Nevada Athletic Commission hands out sanctions to those involved in the brawl at UFC 229.

“December,” White told TMZ Sports when asked for an update on Nurmagomedov and McGregor. “Those guys go before the Nevada State Athletic Commission in December and then we’ll know what’s up.”

“We’re not even thinking about [what’s next]. It’s not even worth talking about because we don’t know how long the suspensions are going to be, what their fines are going to be. We don’t know the penalties yet, so you can’t even think about fights until we know what the penalties are.”

But this hasn’t stopped speculation over a possible matchup against fan favorite Donald Cerrone.

Cerrone (34-11), the newly minted record holder for most wins and finishes in UFC history, teased the UFC had already offered him a “very exciting” name for his return to lightweight following submission win over Mike Perry at UFC Denver. “Cowboy” later threw gasoline on the fire with an Instagram post declaring he was simply “waiting on” McGregor.

Too bad White shot down any talk of the hypothetical fight.

“That’s not true,” said White. “Absolutely not true. Obviously that’s the fight that ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone wants but that’s not true. We haven’t even thought about an opponent for either one of those guys yet, meaning Khabib or Conor.”