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What’s the story?
During yesterday’s UFC 240 post-event news conference, Dana White revealed that negotiations to bring Conor McGregor back to the octagon are ongoing and his return could come sooner than we had previously anticipated.
The UFC President informed the media that he had spoken to McGregor as recently as this week, and the Irishman could be prepared to step in should Dustin Poirier or Khabib Nurmagomedov be forced to drop out of the UFC 242 main event.
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In case you didn’t know...
McGregor (21-4) has been absent from mixed martial arts since being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in the fourth round at UFC 229 last October.
Since then, fans of The Notorious One could only speculate as to when the popular Irishman would return, or if he was to return at all.
The heart of the matter...
Although White was happy to reveal that McGregor would step into the main event at UFC 242 if needed, it’s unlikely that it would be a particularly simple process to call McGregor in to fight at late notice – Conor comes at a hefty price these days.
Should Poirier or Nurmagomedov be unfortunate enough to have to pull out of the event, there is a very real possibility that Dana may give Tony Ferguson the nod and save McGregor’s return for a time when it can be properly marketed.
Dana White said he has had a word with McGregor regarding UFC 242.
“I talked to him last week. He wants to come back, so I mean really what he’s doing is looking to see how everything plays out in September. I was just thinking out there, as of right now, Khabib and Poirier are fighting, but you know how this business works. Anything can happen and usually does, so I think he’s just sort of waiting to see how it all plays out and does he have an opportunity somewhere to jump in and make something happen.” MMA Junkie
What’s next?
As the clock ticks down to UFC 242 on September 7th, all eyes will be on Khabib and Poirier as they prepare to battle it out for UFC Lightweight title.
