Fans react as Conor McGregor's coach 'confirms' date for Irish superstar's comeback

Conor McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, has played a classic April Fool's Day prank on MMA fans across the globe by teasing a return date for 'The Notorious'.

The head coach of SBG Ireland, where McGregor has trained since 2008, posted the following on Twitter:

"Finally have a date!! See you all at international fight week....don't call it a comeback!"

See the post below:

John Kavanagh then followed up his initial tweet with the following video:

Conor McGregor has been out of action since July 2021, when he broke his leg in the first round of his clash with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor completed his rehabilitation for the injury several months ago and even filmed season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Michael Chandler last month.

McGregor and Chandler were expected to fight following the season finale of TUF 31, which airs on August 15. However, with International Fight Week taking place between July 3 - July 9 and 'The Notorious' still outside the USADA testing pool, Kavanagh’s projected date is unlikely.

McGregor will need to be in the USADA drug testing pool for six months before being eligible to compete in the UFC. Kavanagh's post initially tricked fans, who were then forced to remind themselves that today is the 1st of April.

@Mushy_McNulty tweeted:

"Rascal!!"

@lfcfutman said this:

"check date folks"

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Conor McGregor fires back at Justin Gaethje over title shot comments

Justin Gaethje, arguably the most exciting fighter to ever grace the UFC, recently stated that he would consider retirement if Conor McGregor beats Michael Chandler and gets a title shot.

'The Notorious' has been out of competition for almost two years, and Gaethje appears to think that a win over Chandler does not justify a lightweight title shot. The former interim lightweight champion stated in an interview with ESPN MMA that he'd be "devastated" if the Irishman gets another crack at gold with a win.

McGregor has now responded to Gaethje and pointed out that 'The Highlight' received a title shot following a victory over Chandler.

Gaethje bounced back from a defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 by defeating Chandler in the Fight of the Year winner. 'The Highlight' then faced Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title.

McGregor said the following in a since-deleted tweet:

"This braindead fool got a title shot off of one single win and it was vs. Chandler. Yet he will quit and retire if I get the same thing..."