Mac’s Return Depends On UFC 249’s Fighter Safety Success

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a big week coming up, as the promotion will make its long-awaited return to action by staging three events in the span of eight days, starting with UFC 249 this Sat. (May 9) in Jacksonville, Florida.

That said, we are still a few more days way from fight night, so there is still plenty of work to be done. And if the promotion hopes to see its biggest star on the roster, Conor McGregor, return this summer, all things have to keep running smoothly as far as fighter safety is concerned. According to McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, Conor will be an interested observer come fight night to see how everything unfolds.

“Conor is very curious to see whether the health and safety of the athletes and staff are ensured,” Attar said. “He wants to make sure everyone is taken care of properly,” said Audie Attar in a conversation with ESPN.

Of course, what happens in the days and weeks following is very crucial, as well, as still have to see if any fighter or UFC staff members suffer any health problems once the dust settles.

Conor has been a very active advocate in his homeland of Ireland, dishing out several PSA’s encouraging people to practice good hygiene, social distancing and staying under quarantine whenever possible. He’s even put his money where his mouth is, spending over a million euros on personal protective equipment for health workers.

According to Attar, Conor would obviously prefer to fight in front of a large sold out crowd, which means his return could be delayed longer if he chose to do that. But “Notorious” is willing to perhaps return in July to fight in an empty arena as long as fighter proper safety remains on track.

“While Conor’s desire would be to fight in front of another sold-out crowd,” Attar said, “he does understand what him fighting in an empty arena could do for people at home and would consider if he is comfortable with the way the UFC is holding these events from a health and safety standpoint.”

Interestingly enough, Khabib Nurmagomedov recently stated he could also return in July to unify the titles against this weekend’s winner. But if travel restrictions prevent Khabib from flying into the states, another option would be to send Justin Gaethje or Tony Ferguson to “Fight Island” to face “The Eagle.” The same goes for McGregor, who is currently in Ireland.

McGregor made his triumphant return this past January by scoring a first round knockout over Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds at UFC 246.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 249 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 249: “Ferguson vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.