It seems as if the wheels are in motion for UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor to return to the UFC Octagon in 2018, for a two-fight stint.
Conor McGregor has not fought in the UFC since beating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title at UFC 205 in November 2016, being absent the entire year of 2017 to focus on his historic crossover fight against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Recently, UFC president, Dana White claimed that Conor McGregor ‘understands why he will be stripped of the title before UFC 223’, but reports have emerged that we might be getting closer to an idea of when he will return and who it might be against.
MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer stated on his (subscription only) newsletter (Via BloodyElbow), where he reveals that negotiations for McGregor’s return are going smooth and the two parties are close to striking a deal.
“The word is that negotiations with Conor McGregor are going well. No deal to return has been inked but they are said to be not so far apart and are in talks about him doing two fights in 2018.”
From past few weeks, Floyd Mayweather has been in the news and shot videos of himself in the octagon- admitted he was in negotiations with the UFC. However, he has since said the negotiations are over, and McGregor has already said he would only meet Mayweather again if it was inside the octagon.
Veteran reporter Dave Meltzer, also added that the matchup would likely be against the winner of UFC 223’s Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event:
“All the pub right now is Mayweather under MMA rules, but I can’t see Mayweather agreeing to that, even though it’s huge money,” Meltzer noted. “The UFC fight idea is the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.”
Despite Dave Meltzer’s recent report, UFC president said previously and recently that McGregor “might never return” because of the hefty amount of money he made from the Mayweather bout.
What do you guys think, Conor Mcgregor will fight in 2018? If yes who should be his opponent?
