Home Sport Could Conor McGregor fight in Saudi Arabia this year? Kingdom official reveals he has ‘asked the UFC if there is a chance’ the Irishman can star in the promotion’s first ever event in the country

Could Conor McGregor fight in Saudi Arabia this year? Kingdom official reveals he has ‘asked the UFC if there is a chance’ the Irishman can star in the promotion’s first ever event in the country

Sport — 21/01/2024 · 0 Comment

Conor McGregor could be set to fight in Saudi Arabia after the country called for the sport’s biggest star to star on a card in the Middle East.

McGregor hasn’t fought in the company since July 2021, when he suffered a serious leg injury in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier, ruling him out of action for a prolonged period of time.

He has since claimed he will be returning on June 29 to fight Michael Chandler, releasing a video on New Year’s Eve announcing his comeback, though a contract is yet to be signed.

Chandler has insisted he has ‘100 per cent confidence’ that the bout will go ahead, but, having originally been scheduled for February last year, nothing will be secure until signatures are inked.

Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment, Turki Alalshikh, meanwhile, has called for the Irishman to compete on a card – which would be the UFC‘s first in Saudi Arabia – potentially later on this year.

Conor McGregor could fight in Saudi Arabia this year as excitement around his comeback continues to build

The Irishman hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2021, suffering a serious leg injury in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier

Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment, Turki Alalshikh, has called for the Irishman to appear on a card soon

‘I tell Caroline, my sister, here, and she’s a close friend with McGregor and myself, we are ready to fight with him,’ Aalalshikh told DAZN. ‘We will try maybe, and we will announce it.

‘We will do something big and I asked the UFC if there is a chance to have McGregor on this card or in the future on a card.’

The UFC had planned to host an event in the country in March, but that has now been put back, with the aim reportedly now June, around the time of McGregor’s supposed return.

Dana White, UFC president, has insisted that McGregor will be back this year, with the 35-year-old in training for a prolonged period of time since his leg injury, which resulted in his third defeat from his last four fights.

McGregor is set to do battle with Michael Chandler (right) in June, according to a video posted on New Year’s Eve

Dana White, meanwhile, rubbished rumours that the UFC moved their Saudi Arabia even due to the quality of the card

He also denied rumours that the card was moved due to the quality of it, telling Sportsnet: ‘Yes, we moved the card. I know there has been a lot of talk about that the card wasn’t good enough.

‘We never even proposed a card to them, we didn’t tell Saudi Arabia about one fight.

‘So that’s all b*******. Every time the UFC puts on an event, we want to blow the doors off the place, we want people to be excited.

‘It was our first fight ever in Saudi Arabia, and a couple of fights that we wanted to line up, they weren’t ready to go, so we pushed the card back because we are going to deliver.”