Andreas HaleMar 8, 2026, 05:56 AM ET
- Andreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas' free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM's Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z's Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film "Bridges" in 2024.
LAS VEGAS -- The reveal of the UFC's highly anticipated White House event -- dubbed UFC Freedom Fights 250 -- was missing two prominent names that lobbied to compete: Jon Jones and Conor McGregor.
McGregor was hoping to face Michael Chandler while Jones had sought to face two-division champion Alex Pereira. Both Chandler and Pereira are on the card but against different opponents, with Chandler facing Mauricio Ruffy and Pereira in an interim heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane.
UFC CEO Dana White addressed the absence of both fighters with the media following UFC 326.
Even though White had repeatedly shot down the idea of Jones appearing on the card, the former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion had suggested last week that he had been in negotiations to fight at the White House.
"The Jon Jones thing is bulls---," White said. "I'm not saying they weren't talking to Jon Jones and that Jon Jones wasn't interested in the fight. What was even crazier was Jon Jones came out and was like, 'I'm in negotiations right now for the White House card,' after I had already sent a text to his lawyer saying, 'Never going to happen ever.'"
White went as far to say that Jones was still retired and that there was no prospect of him fighting at the White House or any other UFC event in the future.
"Never, ever, ever -- which I told you guys 100,000 times -- was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House," White said. "He's got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, he's had doctors say that he needs a hip replacement."
As for McGregor, White didn't slam the door on a return. Instead, he stated that there are ongoing conversations with the Irish star to return to the Octagon, but the White House didn't work out.
"We are definitely talking to Conor," White said.
Asked for a potential timeline for a McGregor return, White said they were "not even close" to pinning down an event for him to compete at.
McGregor hasn't fought in over five years while Jones last fought against Stipe Miocic in November 2024.
