“Count me in.” Conor McGregor had a quick response to the UFC White House event proposal from President Donald Trump during a ‘Salute to America’ event in Iowa on July 4, 2025. McGregor is an open promoter of Trump and UFC’s CEO, Dana White. However, to many of his fans, it was a movie they had watched before. His last appearance inside the Octagon came on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264. Then, a brutal leg break in the first round handed him a loss to Dustin Poirier. Since then, promises have been made, but never followed through.

Last June, McGregor announced his long-awaited return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303. Both fighters expressed their interest in the event, exciting the fans to see the fight. Even though he entered the doping test back then, he withdrew from the fight because of a toe injury. Just like that, he fizzled out any buzz around his return in the MMA world. Still, as White gave a green light to prepare for a White House fight in 2026, the 2x UFC champ’s name has reappeared on the doping test list.

Recently, he shared videos and photos of giving his samples for further examination. Before, the fighters were supposed to get themselves tested for six months before the fight. Possibly, the rule still stands with McGregor already openly wishing to enter the fight as an Irish President. The UFC Anti-Doping website also confirmed that McGregor has completed his first test session this year. Now, he dropped another hint at his return. But Jake Paul quickly doused any fire with his comment.

Today, the 37-year-old took it to his Instagram account to share a clip of himself shadowboxing on his yacht, captioned “🥋.” With Mobb Deep’s Shook Ones, Part II blasting in the background, the fighter worked on his combos. The one in the video showed him repeatedly make a hook and follow it with a kick. But none of the preparations and updates made a difference to Paul as he commented, “Bro just give it up lol.”

The YouTuber-turned-boxer demanded that McGregor retire from the sport immediately. Interestingly, after Paul’s fight against heavyweight legend Mike Tyson last year, there were some talks of a fight between Paul and McGregor. However, Paul made it clear that any potential clash — whether in boxing or MMA — could only materialize if McGregor’s promoter was on board. In the end, all the speculation died down, and the bout never came to fruition.

Instead, Paul shifted his focus and ultimately faced former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. So far, McGregor’s participation in the White House Card is also a speculation. Although White did drop a “could be” in the context. Many other fighters have also reached out to him to appear in the event.

Since the fight is planned to be in July 2026, White is in no hurry to drop the names as of now. However, he did mention one. For him, a Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall bout, a fight that was previously canceled with Jones’ retirement, would be a dream event. Interestingly enough, Jones, too, has made a comeback on the doping list and has expressed interest in fighting on the 2026 card.

But in the meantime, McGregor’s past rival has spoken surprisingly kind words for him.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says Conor McGregor has to change how he lives

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has expressed concern over former rival Conor McGregor, as he urged the Irishman to reassess his lifestyle. During an event in New York, the 36-year-old reflected on McGregor’s recent troubles.

“This is punishment, [but] the most beautiful part of this is, Allah always give the chance to come back. He has to change how he is living. If he’s going to change, he can change with him so many other lives too… If he’s not going to change, it will be punishment all his life.”

The Dagestani legend, who retired from the sport undefeated in 2020, had once shared one of the most popular rivalries in UFC history with McGregor. His recent statement comes in contrast to his statement from their 2018 clash. He had claimed, “Even if we see [each other] somewhere, we’re going to fight, 100%.”

Now, however, it appears Khabib Nurmagomedov has changed his stance on Conor McGregor, but the fans continue to doubt McGregor’s return to the Octagon. Jake Paul appears to be one of them. While McGregor seems to be providing regular updates, will this really lead to a fight? What do you think?