MMA journalist Ariel Helwani made several revelations during his appearance on UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley’s podcast. The pair discussed what could happen at the milestone UFC 300 event. They were also stoked by the fact that Conor McGregor might not fight at the event.
Helwani, who made an appearance on TimboSugarShow #260, opened up about why he thinks UFC does not want McGregor to fight at the milestone event. He claimed that UFC 300 is already massive and that the promotion will keep him for the next PPV.
Helwani said, “I can understand from a business standpoint why you wouldn’t want to put him on 300 because 300 is going to sell itself because of the pageantry of the number and whatnot.”
He believes UFC 301 seems like a better option for UFC to bring back McGregor “because maybe 301 wouldn’t be great without him.”
The Irish fighter, however, has shown great interest in fighting at UFC 300. When he was interviewed in Saudi Arabia late last month, he hoped to make a comeback by April 2024. Around the same time, UFC 300 will be taking place.
Conor McGregor says he’s “in” for UFC 300 👀
(via @TheNotoriousMMA) pic.twitter.com/ZmSwFhfJpX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 15, 2023
Recently, in a Q&A session on X, McGregor was asked if he was in or out for UFC 300. He replied “In!”
However, McGregor’s coach revealed a few weeks ago that ‘The Notorious’ will not be making a comeback in April. The highly-anticipated comeback was shifted to the summer.
Ariel Helwani claims Conor McGregor is back in the running for a fight at UFC 300
Since McGregor announced his entrance into the USADA testing pool, fans have been waiting to hear about his next official fight. His last fight was against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 almost two-and-a-half years ago. He broke his foot in the trilogy match with the ‘Diamond’ and has not fought since.
Fans hoped for the Irishman to return by the end of 2023, however, March-April 2024 was more realistic. It almost became a given that McGregor was to fight at UFC 300 and an opponent was to be decided. However, the hopes were squashed by John Kavanagh.
John Kavanagh says Conor McGregor’s return is now looking like it will happen in the summertime 📆 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/MBxDmL8tMT pic.twitter.com/0U9JGWcjWO
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 13, 2023
On Helwani’s show, Kavanagh explained that McGregor’s return was shifted to the summer. “We were hoping for April, that was the hope, that is what we were told, now it seems to be the summertime,” the 46-year-old coach said.
On O’Malley‘s podcast, however, Helwani claimed that there’s a U-turn being planned. When Kavanagh’s comments were mentioned, Helwani said, “I’ve heard since that maybe plans are changing.”
Speculations about UFC’s biggest card of this decade have been running wild for months. UFC CEO Dana White previously claimed that the fight card will be released by February 2024.