"Is he buying United" - Conor McGregor's linkup with former Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand in Saudi Arabia has fans abuzz

Conor McGregor was among the combat sports stars that were on hand for Francis Ngannou's boxing bout against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The former UFC double champion met with Rio Ferdinand at the event.

The Manchester United star shared footage of their meeting, captioning the post:

"He’s back… my man @TheNotoriousMMA 👊🏽"

Check out Rio Ferdinand's meeting with Conor McGregor below:

The meeting between the two stars led to plenty of reaction from fans. @WJay_UTD questioned if the mixed martial arts star will buy Manchester United, who are reportedly worth more than $6 billion, stating:

"Is he buying United, Rio? Top source 👌🏻"

@lewis_killick labeled the duo as a pair of legends:

"2 Absolute Legedns. 2 bad mother fuckers. Let's goo. #furyvsngannou @rioferdy5 @TheNotoriousMMA"

@UtdUnity felt that the meeting was unexpected, claiming:

"This has to be one of the strangest collabs I have seen today 😭"

@Abberadon accused 'The Notorious' of steroids usage:

"More juice than the man from Del Monte"

@GeekzOnline noted that McGregor looks much different without his beard:

"without his beard he looks totally different 😅"

@neru22448 claimed Ferdinand was attempting to fake a friendship with McGregor:

"RIP once again trying so hard to be friends with a list celebs, literally walking up to each once and had a camera guy following him 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 beg"

@Batmans_wing suggested that the Manchester United legend seek out Khabib Nurmagomedov instead:

"@TeamKhabib now that's the man you shoukd be looking for"

---

Conor McGregor reveals that he is hoping to return in March

Conor McGregor has not entered the octagon in nearly two and a half years after breaking his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021. 'The Notorious' recently revealed that he is hoping to make his return as soon as possible. Speaking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, the former double champion stated:

"March is earlier than April. I've been kept from my living for almost three years now. Understand that. I came through what I came through. I'm sitting on an injury, and a loss. You hear what Alexander Volkanovski said. I relate. I must return to my way of living. This is my job so it's beyond frustrating and hopefully we can come back."

Check out Conor McGregor's comments on fighting in March below (1:05):

While there was speculation that McGregor could return to the octagon at UFC 296 in December, nothing materialized on that front. He did, however, recently enter the USADA testing pool. While the testing agency will part ways with the mixed martial arts promotion at the end of this year, there has been speculation that 'The Notorious' could return at UFC 300.