Overview
- White said matchmaking starts after UFC 324 and he expects the top fights for the June 14 South Lawn event to be set by the second week of February.
- The UFC CEO ruled out Michael Chandler as McGregor’s opponent and labeled online chatter about a Jorge Masvidal matchup as “goofy,” saying nothing is booked yet.
- Masvidal maintains he and manager Ali Abdelaziz are in discussions with UFC leadership about fighting McGregor, a claim that has not been confirmed by White.
- McGregor has signaled he is training and plans to renegotiate his deal in February, arguing the Paramount media rights era changes the pay structure referenced in his previous PPV-based contract.
- Logistics and politics remain factors, with White noting production chief Craig Borsari’s repeated White House visits and Merab Dvalishvili saying he was told a Petr Yan trilogy would not be placed there because Yan is Russian.