Conor McGregor praised UFC Freedom 250 on X just hours before the White House card began, even though he was not on the fight card. In a post that mixed ceremony with restraint, he wrote, “Good luck to the @ufc team tonight for their ‘Freedom 250’ event at the White House! What a company! God bless America,” ending with a U.S. flag and folded hands emojis.
The timing mattered because the event was being staged at the White House in Washington, D.C., as part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. It also answered one of the biggest questions around the card: McGregor was linked to the event earlier, but the UFC’s lineup did not include him, and the night instead centered on a lightweight title unifier bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
That absence was notable because McGregor has not fought since 2021, and the UFC had said he would return to headline UFC 329 during International Fight Week. He was booked to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024 before that fight fell apart after McGregor suffered a toe injury, and Chandler later went on to rematch Charles Oliveira and then face Paddy Pimblett, losing both fights. McGregor also beat Max Holloway by unanimous decision in their first fight at featherweight in 2013, and the UFC has since booked the pair for a welterweight rematch at UFC 329.
So the post did two things at once: it showed McGregor still wants his name attached to the UFC’s biggest stages, and it underlined that his return remains a promise rather than a walkout. For now, the White House card moved ahead without him, and the bigger question is not whether he can still command attention, but whether UFC 329 is the first time that attention turns into a fight.
