Conor McGregor is apparently ready for his return to the UFC. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, the former two-division UFC champion announced he will step back inside the Octagon on January 18 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against an unnamed opponent.
“I’m in prime physical condition, I’ve agreed the date with the company. As far as the opponent, I have the opponent’s name, but for me and the game that I’m in, and from experience, if I was to give you people the name – which I would love to do – I know the UFC would flip it because they are a crafty company,” said McGregor, per MMA Fighting.
“For me, here’s this one, ask the UFC who the opponent is because I do not give a f*ck who the opponent is. January 18th…the return of ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor…twelve weeks this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Following McGregor’s return, he plans to challenge the winner of the upcoming “BMF” title fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, which he predicts will be Diaz. Then, he’ll seek a lightweight title fight in Moscow against the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s showdown with Tony Ferguson in Moscow.
“We want this bout in Moscow, the people of Russia deserve this bout to take place, the people of the world deserve this bout to take place,” McGregor continued. “It is a rematch that I will come in sharp, fresh [for]. I will have no injuries, I will have no alcohol, I will have no outside influences and I will be fully focused…exactly what the people deserve, exactly what the fans deserve and we will settle it once and for all.”
McGregor’s return falls in line with UFC president Dana White’s timeline he laid out in July, which called for ‘Notorious’ to come home at the beginning of 2020.
The champ last fought in the UFC in 2018, when he was submitted by Nurmagomedov. After the fight, tempers erupted in a post-fight brawl that spilled over into the crowd. Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s bad blood never cooled and both were suspended for their respective roles in the melee.
