Dana White takes another U-turn on Conor McGregor's alleged retirement?

Conor McGregor has been retired for a little while but it's hard to believe that his retirement is a legitimate one, especially since he often uses social media to tease fights that are unlikely to happen.

UFC President Dana White spoke about Conor McGregor to CNN and dropped the standard "he's retired" line, before saying:

“You never know. Listen, it makes a lot of sense for him to come back at the right time. I don’t know when the right time is yet. I’m trying to get to January 1. That’s my goal this year, is to get to January 1 without anything blowing up anymore this year in 2020. I can’t wait for 2020 to be gone. This will go down as the worst year in history, ever.”

What will it take to bring Conor McGregor back in the UFC?

The biggest question for the UFC is whether they should bring back Conor McGregor an empty arena show. Does Conor McGregor want to fight in an empty arena?

Conor McGregor fights are the biggest spectacle the sport of MMA has seen and there's a reason why he's the sport's biggest box office draw. While Dana White would immediately book a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, he knows that the possibilities are less. Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz stated that the Lightweight Champion is likely to only fight twice before his retirement.

Since Justin Gaethje is Khabib Nurmagomedov's opponent at UFC 254, the big question is who the Russian will face if 2021 will be the end of his career. Conor McGregor seems unlikely to get the fight, as Khabib Nurmagomedov rejected the offer before, stating no interest in a rematch.

However, as Dana White stated, before thinking about Conor McGregor, UFC has to get through 2020. They've been the world leaders in terms of bringing sports back during the pandemic.