Conor McGregor is returning to the UFC octagon next year.
McGregor said during a press conference on Thursday that he will fight again on Jan. 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, The Mac Life is reporting. He said he plans on fighting the winner of Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, according to MMA Fighting. Diaz and Masvidal face off Nov. 2 at UFC 244 in New York City.
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According to ESPN, Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje were also options. UFC president Dana White, however, has not commented on McGregor’s plans or confirmed the news.
McGregor has not fought since UFC 229 when he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission. The fight then turned into a brawl outside the octagon between the fighters’ camps and resulted in suspensions.
According to The Mac Life, McGregor suffered a hand injury in the summer that nixed any possibility of him returning. McGregor also said he wants to fight the winner of the planned 2020 championship bout between Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
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Last week, McGregor raised the possibility of a fight against Frankie Edgar at the last UFC event for 2019. However, UFC president Dana White shot down the idea.
McGregor said Wednesday at a press conference in Ukraine that UFC kept putting his return on hold, according to MMA Weekly.
“I was trying to get the Dec. 14th card, for whatever reason they’ve been holding me back,’ he said. “I’m giving them dates, I’m saying I want to fight this date, this date, this date, this date in a row, and we had opponents selected and everything and they’re just making it very difficult for me for whatever reason.”
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With McGregor apparently returning to the fold, it will be a good way to kick off the new year for UFC.
