While the UFC return of Conor McGregor is nearly inevitable, we really don’t know for sure when “Notorious” will step back inside the Octagon.
After losing to undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. this past August, McGregor is taking his time counting his massive payday and getting back into fight form for a return to UFC. As the biggest name in combat sports today, fight fans flock the news wire to see if there are any updates on McGregor’s immediate plans.
Things usually change when it comes to McGregor and his business endeavors, but UFC president Dana White doubled down earlier this week on his previous prediction that “Notorious” will come back to the cage around September. This is good news considering updates on McGregor usually reveal an extended hiatus from competition.
“Hopefully we’ll see him back in either August or September,” White said during a recent interview with BBC (transcription courtesy of MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin). “Well we’ve got to see how things play out in that [lightweight] division. A lot of things are going to happen in the next several months in the 155-pound division. Coming up is going to be Tony Ferguson versus Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and the winner of that is who I would like to see Conor fight next.”
White confirmed earlier this month that McGregor’s UFC lightweight championship will be stripped the second one punch is thrown between interim king Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 on April 7 from Brooklyn, New York. It will be the second time the Irishman has been stripped of a UFC title after seeing his featherweight strap taken away in 2016.
Belt or not, McGregor’s return is the most highly-anticipated event in MMA. The 29-year-old superstar commands one of the biggest followings in professional sports today and does wonders for the UFC’s checkbook every time he steps inside of the cage.
While White hopes that McGregor comes back in August or September to take on the winner of Ferguson vs. Khabib, the return of “Notorious” remains suspended in air. Heck, McGregor was willing to step in on short notice and fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, so fight fans really don’t know what to expect on a month-to-month basis.