Conor McGregor is one of the most popular MMA fighters of all time, and for good reason: he is also one of the best.
But McGregor has not been in the Octagon since July 10, 2021, after his last fight against Dustin Poirier where he broke his leg. Following the fight, McGregor never announced retirement and has said he is open to returning to the UFC many times over the past three years.
Recently, talks of his return have ramped up.
McGregor has been away from the sport filming Road House, which was released on March 21 on Amazon Prime.
During the filming of the movie, McGregor took to social media a couple of times to say his return to the UFC was near and that he would announce his opponent on Jan. 1, 2024.
These claims by McGregor were shut down by UFC President Dana White.
“No. When Conor is ready to fight, you know we’ll announce it,” White said.
Since then, there have been many false claims made by McGregor on dates as early as June for his return or even possibly at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas against Nate Diaz.
White once again commented on the Conor situation saying, “I’m looking for Mexicans [to fight] at The Sphere on Mexican Independence Day.”
“Yeah, no, I’m not doing that fight” said White, when asked a follow-up question about McGregor vs Diaz specifically.
But with the release of McGregor’s movie Roadhouse and his obligations to the movie being over, he can now focus on a return to the UFC. On March 19, Conor told ESPN that he has confirmation on a fight this summer against Michael Chandler.
This time, Dana did not shut down Conor’s return when he was on UFC stars Kamara Usman and Henry Cejudo’s podcast “Pound 4 Pound”.
“There’s no lack of communication, not at all,” said Dana when asked about pushback from Conor towards the UFC.
“Conor needed this time to take off, handle his obligations, and once this [Road House] is over, which means from Thursday [March 21] on, we can start talking fights for Conor,” explained White.
With White saying that the UFC is open for a Conor return and they can start talking fights, it seems only a matter of time before the Irishmen return to the Octagon.
Whether the fight is against Chandler, Diaz or someone else, it is sure to bring the entire MMA out of their seats. No matter what card the fight is placed on, many sports fans will be intrigued to see if McGregor still has what it takes to be a professional UFC fighter.
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