After months of suggesting a comeback, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has finally set a date: January 18 in Las Vegas.
For months, McGregor has been teasing his return to the Octagon on social media, but the announcement - which has not yet been made official by the UFC - was made by him Thursday during a news conference in Moscow. He did not announce who the opponent would be, but sources tell ESPN that Donald Cerrone and Justin Gaethje are the two top candidates, with "Cowboy" being the front-runner.
"Ask the UFC who the opponent is, because I do not give a f--- who the opponent is," McGregor said, speaking at an event for his sponsor Parimatch, a Russian betting website.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN that "no deals are even close to being signed," but did say they are targeting January 18.
McGregor said that his January fight will be the "beginning of my season," and that he has plans to fight three times next year. He's also looking to fight the winner of the Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal main event match at UFC 244 in November. He predicts Diaz will win that fight.
Following that (assuming he wins), McGregor wants to fight for the UFC lightweight title against whoever the champion will be. Khabib Nurmagomedov is the current lightweight champion with Tony Ferguson likely his next challenger.
McGregor's last win in the UFC came against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016. Following his win over Alvarez, McGregor went on a hiatus from the MMA and took part in a boxing superfight with Floyd Mayweather in August 2017. He returned to the UFC the following year and fought Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title at UFC 229 in October 2018, which he lost by way of fourth-round submission. McGregor has not fought in the UFC since his title loss.
McGregor is hoping for a rematch against Nurmagomedov, and wants it to take place in Moscow.
"That is the bout we want," McGregor said.
"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 vowed to return to fighting form in 2020.
"The people who believe in me deserve better," McGregor said.
"It is an insult to the people that believe in me that I am not fully committed. So now I am coming back and I'm fully committed. And I am eager to come back and show the best of myself for my fans around the world."