Morning Report: Conor McGregor says he is in negotiations with the UFC, aiming to return in July

MMAfighting.com

When Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to claim the UFC’s lightweight title at UFC 205, fans had to wait two years to see him return to the cage. This time, it won’t be nearly as long.

At UFC 229, McGregor challenged Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title. It did not go well for him. McGregor was dominated for much of the fight before finally submitting to a neck crank in the fourth round. Things only got worse from there as Nurmagomedov jumped the fence and incited a brawl that McGregor got caught up in. Ultimately, McGregor wound up with a $50,000 fine and a six-month suspension for his role in the fracas. That suspension runs out in April and, according to McGregor he’s ready to get back to fighting soon after that.

McGregor was a guest of honor at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago on Saturday, and he spoke with ABC7 Chicago about his fighting future, saying he is currently in negotiations with the UFC and targeting a summer return.

“Yes, we’re currently in negotiations,” McGregor said. “We’re aiming for July. We’ll see what happens, but I’m staying ready. This morning I was doing incline sprints on the treadmill on my program, the McGregorFast program, in a hotel room. So we’re staying on it, getting work in as we go.”

McGregor had previously been linked to a fan favorite matchup with Donald Cerrone for sometime in April after his suspension was over but that bout seemingly stalled out when the UFC reportedly didn’t want McGregor to headline the event. Why the UFC would want the biggest star in the history of their company to serve as a co-main event remains a mystery but McGregor’s reveal that they are “in negotiations” suggests that it remains a sticking point for both sides.

Or perhaps all parties are just waiting on the outcome of UFC 236 where Max Holloway rematches Dustin Poirier, this time for the UFC interim lightweight title. Holloway has already called out McGregor for July so, depending on what happens at UFC 236, maybe “Notorious” just found a bigger game than Cerrone.