Conor McGregor is not attending UFC 242 this weekend, according to Dana White.
The UFC President revealed McGregor won't attend the event in Abu Dhabi, of which Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier fight in the main event.
White told ESPN : "He won't be here. I talk to Conor, normally, twice a month but I talked to him this morning. He won't be here but he'll be watching."
McGregor has been embroiled in controversy since he lost to Nurmagomedov with footage released recently allegedly showing him punching a 50-year-old man in a Dublin pub.
He also broke his hand in sparring earlier this year and is not yet able to train properly.
The Irishman wants to return later this year but White was non-commital.
"It's all going to depend on his hand and how long it takes to recover," he said.
McGregor recently said that although he wants to fight Nurmagomedov again, he will not wait around for the champion.
"I'm not going to wait around, if Dustin does it, it's Dustin, if it's Nate [Diaz], Nate, if it's Jorge [Masvidal], Jorge... Tony Ferguson, Justin [Gaethje], [Max] Holloway, the [Jose] Aldo rematch," he told ESPN.
"Frankie Edgar is also up there because he has similarities to Khabib, he runs on the back foot and shoots on the single leg.
"Frankie has been very respectful, he said he wanted to tell his grandkids he fought Conor McGregor one day.
"There are so many bouts for me but it doesn't matter, it's about getting back in and being who I am, not a shell of myself, not half-committed."
When asked if he planned to fight this year, McGregor paused before confirming he could.
"It's hard... I'd say we can get it done," he added.
"I'm already in shape, I haven't lost my condition, I just need to sharpen up the grappling. I would look for that, for the end of the year."
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