McGregor, 21-3, hasn’t set foot inside the Octagon since claiming the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 205, a card which saw him become the promotion’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion.
Fourteen months have passed since that historic night at Madison Square Garden and McGregor has yet to reveal when he plans on returning to the UFC.
His failure to do so has resulted in White repeatedly suggesting the promotion will strip him of the lightweight crown.
However, when asked if the promotion had done so during a press conference to promote Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, White refused to reveal if McGregor had been relieved of his belt.
Although he did claim Ferguson, the interim 155lbs champion, and Nurmagomedov, who will face one another at UFC 223, will be fighting for the ‘undisputed’ title.
“I have no update,” White said when asked about McGregor’s future. “The winner of this fight will be the champion.”
He added: “They’re going to fight for the title. This is the real title. I said that Conor can’t hold up the title for two years.”
White’s failure to address McGregor’s status as champion led many to believe ‘The Notorious’ may have changed his plans to return to the cage in the latter part of 2018.
However, White downplayed that notion by once again claiming he doesn’t know if McGregor will ever fight again.
“I don’t know,” White told the AP of McGregor’s status in advance of UFC 220 in Boston on Saturday night.
“I don’t wait for anybody. I run my business, I keep rolling and that’s it.
“The kid’s got $100 million. Who knows, he might never fight again.”