Conor McGregor’s Return Imminent

Conor McGregor’s Return Imminent:

By Jon Prentice

If reports that have surfaced this week are to be believed, there is an impending UFC return for one of its biggest draws Conor McGregor (21-3-0), with a match up against current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0-0) expected to take place before the year is out. This is in accordance to McGregor’s coach and SBG Ireland lead man John Kavanagh.

Kavanagh was speaking with MMA analyst Robin Black, who was in Ireland this past weekend, where he was quoted as stating that he would “bet almost anything” that the fight with Nurmagomedov “happens before the end of the year”. He further went on to state that he “can’t imagine it not happening”, which certainly gives fans hope that one of the most anticipated showdowns in recent history is edging closer to fruition.

Kavanagh also went on to acknowledge that “it’s the obvious fight, as his coach and as a fan”.

McGregor last stepped foot inside the octagon at UFC 205 in November 2016 where he disposed of Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight championship and become a two weight UFC champion. Since the Alvarez fight McGregor has mainly dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

McGregor firstly got into a confrontation with highly respected Marc Goddard at Bellator 187 in November 2017 which drew criticism from many amongst the MMA circles. McGregor stormed the cage following the matchup between SBG Ireland teammate and friend Charlie Ward and John Redmond to celebrate Ward’s victory. Goddard intervened and ushered McGregor out of the cage much to his displeasure, with the Irishman pushing the referee and unleashing a verbal barrage at Goddard before being separated by Bellator officials.

McGregor was in further hot water earlier this year when he and his entourage attacked a UFC bus following a media day ahead of UFC 223. McGregor launched a dolly at the bus causing the window to shatter, injuring several of the fighters on the bus and causing their withdrawal from arguably the best card of the year on paper to that point.

The attack stemmed from Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team confronting Artem Lobov, a friend and teammate of McGregor, earlier in the week whilst he also prepared to compete on the same card. Nurmagomedov was on the bus at the time of the attack and was the intended target for McGregor.

The attack resulted in McGregor being arrested and facing charges of assault and criminal mischief, and having already appeared in a New York court once, McGregor is due back in Brooklyn on 26th July to discover his fate following the incident. It is expected that he will avoid any jail time however news of a showdown between him and Nurmagomedov will no doubt be delayed until after the hearing.

In the ring, McGregor famously took on boxing legend and P4P great Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on August 26th 2017, suffering defeat via 10th round TKO. The fight garnered a huge media following and both fighters earned tens of millions of dollars, leading to rumours that McGregor may never compete in the UFC again.

McGregor has gained a huge following since joining the UFC in 2013, shooting to prominence with a string of impressive wins and some of the most high-profile war of words in the sports history. He backed up all of the talk winning the interim featherweight title by defeating Chad Mendes at UFC 189 and then famously knocking out pound for pound king Jose Aldo after just 13 seconds for the undisputed title. He then went 1-1 against Nate Diaz, losing via submission in their first meeting but then gaining redemption in the rematch taking the decision in a 5 round war which led to the title fight with Alvarez.

With the UFC’s PPV numbers dwindling of late they will be hoping more than anyone that the reports over McGregor’s return are true, and that he takes that walk back to the octagon sooner rather than later.