Conor McGregor says he's 'itching for a fight' after two-year UFC hiatus
Conor McGregor is back. The 30-year-old will make his return to UFC after two years away Oct. 6. He’ll take on Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two have some history.
The time away hasn’t changed McGregor’s desire to step back into the Octagon. He told TheMacLife.com that he’s “itching for a fight” and that it’s “good to be back.” You can watch the full interview in the above video (Warning: NSFW language).
McGregor also explained how he felt about the state of UFC while he was away, and said he wanted to get back in the Octagon sooner.
McGregor said he was “irritated” that both his titles were taken away from him. McGregor was stripped of both the featherweight and lightweight belts due to inactivity. He lost the featherweight title two weeks after holding both belts. Jose Aldo was given the featherweight belt, which McGregor was not happy about.
He was then stripped of his lightweight title, and took a dig at all the lightweight contenders who have tried to take the title since he’s been gone.
“These things irritated me, especially seeing what way it’s going, who the belts are given to, who the people who are challenging for the belts, who the person who has the belt is facing to get the belt. Many things irritated me in the game.”
McGregor also said that he wanted to return to UFC earlier, but the company said no. According to McGregor, he offered to fight Frankie Edgar and Rafael Dos Anjos on short notice. UFC said no because they wouldn’t have time to promote the event. McGregor said he would have taken a pay cut in each scenario.
He won’t have to do that when he takes on Nurmagomedov on Oct. 6. After McGregor’s bus rampage, there’s already plenty of hype surrounding the fight.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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