Former two division UFC champion Conor McGregor could be a late replacement for either fighter according to UFC President Dana White.
“I talked to him last week,” White said after UFC 240 (via Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie). “He wants to come back, so I mean really what he’s doing is looking to see how everything plays out in September. I was just thinking out there, as of right now, Khabib and Poirier are fighting, (but) you know how this business works. Anything can happen and usually does, so I think he’s just sort of waiting to see how it all plays out and does he have an opportunity somewhere to jump in and make something happen.”
McGregor hasn’t competed since the main event of UFC 229, where he suffered a fourth round submission loss to Nurmagomedov. McGregor has hinted at a return since UFC 229, but nothing has been made official at this time. McGregor also hasn't won a fight in almost three years, with that last win coming over Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205.
