It may not be that much longer until Conor McGregor has booked his return to the UFC.
On Wednesday, UFC president Dana White revealed plans to meet with McGregor this weekend when the promotion lands in Liverpool, England for a card airing Sunday on FS1.
McGregor is expected to be a busy man over the next few days with teammates fighting as part of Bellator 200 in London before then traveling to Liverpool for a meeting with White.
McGregor hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2016 when he became a two-division champion with a second round TKO against Eddie Alvarez.
More recently, McGregor has been mired in legal troubles after he led an attack on a UFC bus back in April that ended with him being arrested and facing two misdemeanor charges for assault and a felony charge for criminal mischief.
“Obviously he has to deal with that in June,” White told ESPN’s “SportsCenter” when referencing McGregor’s upcoming hearing in New York (transcription via MMAJunkie). “I’m flying to Liverpool this weekend for a fight there, and he and I are going to meet in Liverpool.
“We’re going to sit down and talk about his future and what’s next. But obviously I have nothing to do with the legal issues. He has to figure that out on his own.”
White didn’t speculate any further on what might be next for McGregor in the UFC, although the most likely matchup would be a showdown with new lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor was stripped of his lightweight title after Nurmagomedov won his belt back in April and that only added more fuel to the fire in that growing rivalry.
McGregor’s assault on the bus was also predicated by another altercation involving Nurmagomedov when he confronted the Irishman’s longtime teammate and close friend Artem Lobov over comments he had made in the media. McGregor retaliated by bringing a crew of his friends to New York to look for Nurmagomedov, but the end result was a bus being bombarded by debris and at least two fighters suffering injuries that forced them out of their upcoming bouts.
While Nurmagomedov might seem like the fight that would make the most sense for McGregor, there are a laundry list of potential matchups that could entice the former champion to return to the Octagon.
McGregor did tease a potential return with a post on Instagram on Wednesday as well.
White did add that before McGregor can do anything, he has to get his legal issues sorted out first. McGregor’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 14 in Brooklyn.
Who should Conor McGregor face when he finally makes his return to the UFC? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
