Conor McGregor Confirms Summer Return Yet Again: ‘It’s All Systems Go’

Hardly a couple of days after voicing frustration with the Ultimate Fighting Championship over a lack of communication, Conor McGregor claims to have received confirmation on his potential return to the Octagon.

McGregor has been sidelined since breaking his leg in a trilogy clash with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. After recovering, McGregor went back and forth with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) before finally returning to their drug testing pool in October 2023. While “Notorious” has since teased multiple return dates, things seemingly weren't panning out at the negotiation table with the UFC. However, McGregor has now confirmed a return to action this summer, which isn’t the first time he has done so.

“We got confirmation a few days ago that it's all systems go,” McGregor told ESPN. “And ‘The Mac,’ ‘The Notorious,’ will be returning in the UFC Octagon this summer.”

McGregor starred opposite Michael Chandler (23-8) as a rival coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” last year, with a clash between the two expected at the conclusion of the season. However, the Irishman subsequently appeared to have shifted focus, calling out multiple other potential opponents, while Chandler has been waiting on the sidelines since November 2022. Despite his latest callouts to Poirier and Nate Diaz, McGregor confirmed that he will be returning against Chandler.

“Yeah, it’s Michael Chandler. Shut up, Michael, you fuc*ing imbecile. The man doesn't shut up. I seen him on ‘Raw.’ I like Mike -- I'm going to bust him up. I'm going to bust Mike up, yeah? If I say it, I do it. If I say it, it gets done, end of. Put that on my stone. So, Chandler in the summer.”

Despite having fought mostly at featherweight and lightweight, McGregor has been contemplating a move-up and even teased a middleweight clash against Chandler earlier. McGregor now admits that he was just having fun with “Iron” about the weight and that he hasn’t weighed himself since his last UFC weigh-in appearance.

“Weight – was having a bit of a laugh about 185 [lbs.] Haven’t checked the scales, Marc [Raimondi], since the last time I weighed in at a UFC event. Which is a fair bit of time ago. So, I’ll have a chat and see where I’m at.”

McGregor recently weighed in on Dana White publicly shutting down his call for a Mexican Independence Day clash with Diaz. Furthermore, the Dubliner alluded to a general lack of contact from the UFC, seemingly making him lose interest. However, McGregor confirms that is no longer the case.

“But I got great news, it’s all systems go. Thumbs up, thumbs up. Got the call; everything’s sweet. I hit the gym. I had [my] camps in Dubai, I had a camp in Cannes. I was preparing, and then I was kind of getting nothing back. And then other things would come up so I kind of dipped out. But now, it’s on. So, there’s no messing now. I cannot dip out now. So straight away, I have a full-scale UFC Octagon in my home. I got a guy up, we had full straightener, a full fight just to get that going and camp has began.”