Conor McGregor is once again on the road to redemption and he’s apparently “chomping at the bit” to get back inside of the Octagon.
This is according to UFC president Dana White, who tries to keep in touch with his biggest PPV cash cow as much as possible. McGregor has been recovering from a serious leg injury suffered at UFC 264 this past July and nobody really knows when he’ll return to action. “Notorious” does seem to be moving along nicely with his rehab and is currently eyeing a return to sparring this April.
“He’s chomping at the bit to get back in there and compete again,” White said earlier this week during an appearance on “The Jim Rome Podcast.” “It’s going to be a while before he can put some torque on that leg. April. For him to start training again in April is probably about right.”
McGregor, who is hands down the most well-known fighter in the sport today, doesn’t need to return to fighting if he doesn’t want to. The former two-division champion is a millionaire for life and wouldn’t be looked at any differently if he walked away after suffering a brutal leg injury just a few months ago.
That said, McGregor isn’t giving up anytime soon as he still believes he’s the best fighter on the planet. Even after losing three out of his last four trips to the Octagon the Irish sensation is as focused as ever to return to the mix and try to win UFC gold once again.
“I don’t know (how badly he wants it),” White said. “He obviously still has the desire to compete. You don’t ever hear Conor going, ‘You know what, man? I just don’t have the desire for this anymore.’ You now what I mean? He’s obviously very rich, and he’s training like Rocky in ‘Rocky III,’ but he still has the desire to compete and the desire to fight, and we’ll see what happens.”
While it’s unlikely that McGregor gets the immediate lightweight title shot that he’s calling for he does have a wide collection of opponents that could welcome him back into the cage. This includes top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, veteran rival Nate Diaz, and even Michael Chandler, who continues to pay McGregor serious respect as a MMA pioneer.