“When will Conor McGregor fight again?” has been the query raised by pundits and fans of mixed-martial arts for nearly 18 months, but we may be getting closer to an answer to that question after this weekend.
UFC president Dana White spoke with ESPN and said he will meet with the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion this weekend in England, where the UFC will host an event on Saturday night in Liverpool.
“We’re going to sit down and talk about his future and what’s next,” White said.
Of course, McGregor still has to deal with legal charges stemming from a chaotic and violent incident he instigated in Brooklyn prior to UFC 223 in April. McGregor and a group of his friends stormed into Barclays Center and attacked a bus full of UFC fighters with various objects during media day, causing injuries and fight cancellations.
He was charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief and is scheduled to appear in court on June 14. It’s not certain whether McGregor will receive any punishment from the UFC for his actions in New York.
“I have nothing to do with the legal issues, he’ll need to figure that out on his own,” White said. “Obviously, he has to deal with (his legal situation) in June.”
McGregor hasn’t fought in the octagon since UFC 205, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez to win the UFC lightweight title belt to become the first two-division champion in UFC history. Rather than defend the belts, McGregor pursued a lucrative boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.
While he was able to stack paper to the ceiling in his loss to Mayweather, McGregor’s absence from the octagon led to him being stripped of both the featherweight and lightweight belts.
As far as potential opponents go, current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov seems to be the obvious choice. The Russian has stated he wants to defend his belt toward the end of the year. Perhaps by then, McGregor will have his legal issues sorted out and ready to make his return to the octagon.
