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Conor McGregor In Talks For His Next Fight But Won’t Return in April

Damon Martin
Conor McGregor - UFC 229 New York Press Conference
Conor McGregor - UFC 229 New York Press Conference

Conor McGregor has started talks with the UFC about his next fight but he won’t be returning as early as April when his current suspension is up.

Earlier this week, McGregor was suspended for six months and fined $50,000 for his role in the UFC 229 post fight brawl following his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov last October.

McGregor’s suspension will end on April 6 and he’s been hinting at a fight against former title contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone for the past couple of weeks.

UFC president Dana White confirmed on Thursday that talks have started regarding McGregor’s next fight but he also added that the biggest draw in UFC history won’t be rushing back to compete as early as April.

“We’ve started to talk to McGregor,” White revealed at the UFC 235 pre-fight press conference. “He’s got less of a suspension. No, he wouldn’t fight in April.”

As of now, White says there’s no exact timeline on when McGregor would return, which is part of the conversation they’re having with him right now.

“I don’t know, that’s what we’re trying to figure out,” White said when asked about when McGregor will fight again.

What seems to be set in stone is that McGregor won’t be getting an automatic rematch with Nurmagomedov after suffering a fourth round rear naked choke loss to him last year.

While McGregor definitely wanted another shot at the undefeated Russian, White and the UFC have opted to go in a different direction instead.

Nurmagomedov is expected to face former interim champion Tony Ferguson in his next fight and all signs are pointing towards McGregor battling Cerrone.

If Nurmagoemdov and McGregor win, White said earlier this week that he would then consider putting them back into the Octagon together.

“What I think needs to happen is Khabib versus Tony Ferguson, do Conor and ‘Cowboy’ and if they both come out of that, we do the rematch,” White said.

Now it’s just a matter of finding the right time for McGregor to return as the former lightweight champion begins his climb back up the ranks.