This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
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Conor McGregor's highly anticipated return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) may be sooner than expected. UFC President Dana White has predicted that the Irish fighter will be back in the Octagon by 2020, citing McGregor's history of retiring and then returning to the sport.
"I think McGregor is gonna come back at the beginning of next year," White told Rich Eisen during an interview on his show this week. "So, realistically, all these guys are looking at September to see what happens with Khabib and Poirier. After that fight plays out, I think there’s gonna be a lot of movement going on."
McGregor's last fight was at UFC 229 in October 2018, where he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov. The defeat led to a series of controversies, including a bus attack and assault charges. He then injured his hand during training and needed to undergo surgery, prolonging his absence from the sport.
Despite his recent troubles, McGregor's coach John Kavanagh has expressed optimism about his fighter's return. "I think what has come back around is the love of the sport," Kavanagh said. "He loves doing it, he loves training, he loves competing... So that’s what’s really come back into him since the beginning of the year. That’s what I wanted to see... You wouldn’t want to see him doing something just for the sake of doing it and maybe getting hurt or whatever because he’s not fully there. But now he absolutely is."
