Dana White says Conor McGregor will have to go through surgery and extensive physical therapy because of his knee injury ... which will at least give him time to think about his future.

We caught up with the UFC President and CEO at Fanatics Fest 2026 in New York City Saturday ... and we had to ask him about Conor's recent loss by TKO to Max Holloway after a knee injury ended the brawl.

Dana says he's talked to Conor recently ... and the fighter is obviously sad and frustrated about how his comeback ended.

Conor has to go through extensive recuperation to heal his knee, Dana says ... and he thinks some of that time needs to be spent by Conor looking inward -- and figuring out if he wants to return to combat sports.

While Dana seems less than sure that Conor will make a comeback, Conor's already talking about it ... saying he wants to fight Holloway again in a rematch.

Speaking of Holloway ... we also asked Dana about people knocking Max for celebrating his win even though Conor couldn't continue because of injury ... and he's got an interesting take on the whole situation. Watch the clip all the way through to hear it.

The Notorious isn't one to give up ... stay tuned!