Conor McGregor: UFC's spectacular return plans for Notorious revealed
CONOR MCGREGOR's long-awaited return to the Octagon was reportedly going to see him take part in a mini-tournament.
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Ireland's first UFC belt holder hasn't set foot inside the cage in nearly 19 months, with his last outing taking place at UFC 205 in November 2016.
McGregor's hiatus led to the UFC stripping him of the lightweight crown, which Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed in the main event of UFC 223.
And according to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, the UFC brass wanted McGregor to meet the lightweight division's new ruler in the second fight of a 155lbs tournament, which would've seen Nate Diaz take on Georges St-Pierre.
“After Nurmagomedov won the vacant UFC lightweight title in April, the UFC put together a plan for the top of the 155-pound division that could have been its most lucrative idea to date,” Helwani wrote.
“The plan was to book an unofficial mini-tournament involving four of the biggest draws in the sport: Nurmagomedov, McGregor, St-Pierre and Nate Diaz.
“The promotion wanted GSP vs. Diaz on Aug. 4 in Los Angeles, Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor in the fall and the winners facing off by the end of the year.
“However, the tournament never got off the ground after the GSP vs. Diaz fight failed to come to fruition for various reasons.
The plan was to book an unofficial mini-tournament involving four of the biggest draws in the sport: Nurmagomedov, McGregor, St-Pierre and Nate Diaz
“Most important, St-Pierre still doesn’t feel healthy enough to return.”
At this moment in time, it's currently unknown when McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the UFC, who have failed to replicate the pay-per-view success they had in 2016 without their poster boy.
White is keen to book the former UFC lightweight champion in a bout against Nurmagomedov but has admitted he can't do so until the resolution of his upcoming court case.
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"Yeah that’s the fight to make,” White said during the latest episode of the UFC Unfiltered Podcast when asked about a potential fight between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“But there’s no fight to make until we figure out what happens with Conor.”
White's comments on McGregor's future came a little over 48 hours before the Irishman claimed he was on course to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 224 before his antics at the UFC 223 media day.
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In an Instagram post reflecting on his placing in Forbes' Highest-Paid Athletes list for 2017, McGregor said: "Made it to number 4 on the Forbes list this year.
"If I had of fought on the agreed May 12th bout in Rio De Janeiro, I would have surpassed Ronaldo and Messi to take 2nd place.
“Something came up however... Ah well, still under 30.”