The event Conor McGregor is targeting to make his UFC return has been approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Fans were left disenchanted earlier this month when it was announced by the promotion that Conor McGregor wouldn’t compete on the UFC White House event this coming June.
The Irishman has seemingly been gearing as much as make his return to the game since last 12 months, nevertheless, he was handed an 18-month suspension after an anti-doping violation.
That suspension finally finished this past week, with ‘The Notorious’ now officially cleared to make his highly anticipated return to the game.
Max Holloway revealed as frontrunner to face McGregor
This Wednesday, it was announced that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has officially approved a UFC event on the T-Mobile Arena on July 11, which is believed to be the UFC 329 International Fight Week event.
McGregor has been targeting that event to make his return after he was told he won’t be competing on the White House, and this Wednesday morning, he claimed ‘the rumors are true’ and that he shall be returning on that event.
And now, it has been revealed by Ariel Helwani that Max Holloway is now the frontrunner to tackle the previous double champion in his return.
Initially it was assumed that he would make his comeback against Michael Chandler, nevertheless, that fight was shut down by Dana White and Chandler was then booked to fight Mauricio Ruffy on the White House event.
Holloway lost his BMF title to Charles Oliveira earlier this month, and it seemed as if the chance to fight McGregor had passed him by.
Despite that, in an announcement following his loss, ‘Blessed’ stated that he isn’t done in the game and that he would really like a rematch against ‘The Notorious’.
The 2 first clashed back in 2013 early in each of their careers, with McGregor picking up the unanimous decision win, which was the primary fight where he was unable to attain the finish.
Another choice that seemed likely was a trilogy fight against Nate Diaz, who has been teasing a possible return to the UFC for some time now.
Despite that, it was announced recently that Diaz will make his MMA return on the MVP MMA Netflix event this coming May.
White reacted to the news of Diaz’s fight, revealing that he and Diaz had a gathering just a few weeks prior but Diaz received a suggestion from MVP that he couldn’t refuse, potentially shutting the door on a UFC return for good.
Rumors also surfaced that Jorge Masvidal could also be being explored as McGregor’s return opponent after ‘Gamebred’ claimed he’s in talks with the promotion regarding an enormous return.
Nonetheless, Helwani shut down those claims, stating that Masvidal just isn’t being discussed.