CONOR MCGREGOR has finally admitted he WON’T be making his long-awaited UFC return this year.
The Notorious was due to make his cage comeback against Michael Chandler – who has since moved on from their proposed clash – in June before he suffered a broken left pinky toe.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, McGregor revealed he was eyeing a December return to the octagon.
UFC bigwig Dana White, however, has publicly poured cold water on an end-of-year return for the promotion’s poster boy, who is now resigned to a 2025 return.
When asked about his return date this past weekend, the Irishman told DAZN: “It will be 2025. “We will see.
“My opponent that I had scheduled… it is what it is. I take it on board and rock on.
“My job is to go to the gym and be in shape, whenever it is and wherever it is. I will be 100 per cent ready.”
McGregor, 36, has two fights left on the lucrative contract he inked with MMA‘s top promotion in the build-up to his 2018 grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Negotiations over a new deal were held before the cancellation of his clash with Chandler, although the Dubliner has suggested they have been put on ice.
He recently told SunSport: “You know, the fight never happened.
“So it’s just about getting the fight on.”
Former two-division McGregor is champing at the bit to get back inside the cage.
But he’s seemingly now itching to see out his contract with the MMA leader and become a free agent.
He said: “I must get two fights in 2025. It’s the promised land.”
McGregor is currently without an opponent following Chandler’s decision to rematch former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in November.
When pressed on who will welcome him back to the octagon, he said: “Who knows? It does not matter.
“Whoever, let’s see. I’d like it to be Chandler. I wish him well and see where it goes.”
McGregor hasn’t graced the octagon since shattering his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
