After an impressive 2024, Dana White and the executives believe 2025 will be the best year the UFC has ever seen. There are plans to expand the promotion outside of the borders of the United States, making it an exciting time to be an MMA fan. However, the 55-year-old could also face certain hurdles along the way, which could prove to be pretty major.

Even 2024 wasn’t void of hurdles and complications for Dana White, who had to see so many fights get canceled and rescheduled. One of those major fights that fell off was the one that Conor McGregor was scheduled to return to against Michael Chandler. Let’s take a look at that front, which is also the first big challenge for the UFC CEO.

Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the UFC

The most important question that fans have and the answer to which is uncertain is the exact date of Conor McGregor’s return. After the initial plan for him to make his return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, Dana White claimed the Irishman would be back by early 2025, but then again, he retracted his words only to say that McGregor won’t be back until late 2025.

One of the main reasons behind the uncertain nature of Conor McGregor‘s comeback is his recent civil lawsuit loss. The former UFC double champion didn’t just lose the case but was also asked to pay the plaintiff, Nikita Hand, a sum of over $250,000 in damages and even cover her legal costs. Now, McGregor is planning to appeal against the court’s decision, but we don’t have any development on that front.

Another cause of concern is that Conor McGregor is making a return to fighting but in a boxing match against Logan Paul in a $250 million fight. Even that has sparked concerns about his fighting career since he’s choosing to compete in an exhibition fight even though he’s still at an age where most MMA fighters actively compete at the highest level. So is he considering calling it a career inside the Octagon? While that remains to be seen, let’s check out Dana White‘s next big hurdle.

Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall: The biggest fight ever?

Dana White strongly believes that there is no bigger fight to make in the UFC than the anticipated heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. While the Englishman is itching to get his hands on the supposed greatest of all time, his heavyweight counterpart doesn’t feel the same. Jones is looking for a fight that could be an excellent addition to his resume, and for that, the undisputed heavyweight champion wants to fight fellow two-weight champ, Alex Pereira.

“Fight the nobody [Aspinall] that may be more dangerous or fight the guy [Pereira] with all of the accolades who is incredibly dangerous but it will actually affect your legacy,” Jon Jones stated during the UFC 309 media day. “Me beating Cyril Gane didn’t do anything for me. It just gave me a few more millions. It would be the same for Tom Aspinall.”

However, Dana White absolutely decided against setting up Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones because of their clear size discrepancy. “His wrestling isn’t even near the level of Jon Jones, and Jon Jones is way bigger than him. If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall,” the UFC CEO stated in the aftermath of UFC 309. The 55-year-old will have to strike a deal with Jones on this one. But now, let’s look at the final challenge that could shape the future of the UFC.

UFC’s signing its next TV deal with Netflix?

The UFC’s current media rights deal with ESPN, which is worth around $1.5 million is way lower than the deals that leagues like the NFL and the NBA have. Moreover, the deal is about to end soon and Dana White is considering all options for whom he wants to pen the deal with next. Meanwhile, the TKO Group Holdings president, Mark Shapiro, stated that there are three platforms currently in the running to bag UFC media rights.

“We’ve had impromptu three different platforms inquire about that window that you’re talking about and when we might be able to sit down with them to discuss moving to a different platform, which we will do if we can’t get the right deal,” Mark Shapiro stated a few months ago. While he did not mention the names of the platforms, it could be expected that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are among them.

With a growing interest in streaming sporting events, Netflix started sporting streaming when Jake Paul took on Mike Tyson. Now, UFC’s sister promotion WWE is also going to Netflix with their RAW show becoming an exclusive Netflix show. It would be a great move for Dana White to see his promotion’s media rights to the $395 billion platform because of the traction it has gained in combat sports.

We can safely assume that Dana White will have a challenging year ahead, although the UFC execs believe this year will be their best. Regardless, let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.