Conor McGregor next fight: When is ‘The Notorious’ returning to the octagon? Here’s the latest update from UFC CEO Dana White

Conor McGregor's UFC return has been a hot topic of discussion, especially after the Irishman coached the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter and expressed interest in fighting again.

The former two-division UFC champion's return from injury isn't necessarily an easy one as he removed himself from the USADA testing pool during his recovery. With that in mind, he would need to re-enter the testing pool for a duration of six months before being eligible to return to the octagon.

'The Notorious' had targeted December as his return, but the deadline to re-enter the testing pool was in July if he wanted to make that a reality. Despite the idea of an exemption for the six-month re-entry being teased, that wasn't the case and it appears as though 2024 is more realistic.

During a recent interview with Piers Morgan, UFC CEO Dana White spoke about the Irishman's highly anticipated return being on the horizon for the new year. He mentioned that Conor McGregor is training in the gym again on a regular basis and expects him to return to the octagon.

He said:

"He is back in the gym, he's training, and yeah, I expect to see Conor fighting next year."

In terms of who the opponent will be, it will be Michael Chandler as they served as the opposing coaches on TUF, and 'Iron' hasn't fought since it was announced that he'd be coaching. It will be interesting to see whether Conor McGregor re-enters the USADA testing pool within the next month as that would make him eligible to headline UFC 300.

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Conor McGregor says his rematch against Nate Diaz was easy for judges to score

Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz remains one of the biggest rivalries in UFC history as the two fought twice and set pay-per-view records for the promotion.

'The Irishman' recently took to X, where he appeared to rekindle that rivalry by sharing his thoughts on their second bout, which saw him earn a majority decision and avenge his loss. He mentioned that the knockdowns he secured should've resulted in rounds being scored 10-8 in his favor and that it was easy to score, writing:

"Was round 1 where I dropped Nate once, and round 2 where I dropped Nate twice, scored 10-8s? They shoulda been, it was a cake walk on points."

Tweet regarding rematch against Nate Diaz