Conor McGregor hasn’t been seen inside of the Octagon since 2016, but he’s still creating enough buzz about a return that fans are left wondering just when that might be.

He followed up his record-breaking victory over Eddie Alvarez inside Madison Square Garden with a massive money-making loss against Floyd Mayweather inside of a boxing ring. Despite there being talk of a rematch in either discipline, all attention falls on the Notorious’ Octagon return and the current lightweight situation.

RETURN

UFC president Dana White has refused to say that the organisation has stripped the Irishman from the lightweight championship - like they did with the featherweight crown - and now longtime rivals Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will be throwing down at UFC 223 for the full version of the championship.

KHABIB OR FERGUSON

He said: “Hopefully, we’ll see him back in either August or September.

“Well, we’ve got to see how things play out in that [lightweight] division. A lot of things are going to happen in the next several months in the 155-pound division.

“Coming up is going to be Tony Ferguson versus Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and the winner of that is who I would like to see Conor fight next.”

El Cucuy and The Eagle are clearly the favourite options right now, especially since one of them is going to leave Brooklyn as the lightweight champion and McGregor set to be stripped of his gold once both fighters officially make weight.

Ferguson has been vocal about wanting ‘McNuggets’ while there is also history between McGregor and the Dagestan native who many thought would be the immediate challenger to McGregor once he dethroned Alvarez.

However, a trilogy with Nate Diaz is also a possibility, with the Stockton fighter not competing since his UFC 202 rematch loss to his Irish rival.

If McGregor is looking to legitimise the rankings, though, then the winner of Ferguson and Nurmagomedov looks to be the only option and based on White’s comments, it could happen as early as August or September.

What do you make of Dana White’s comments on a potential Conor McGregor return in either August or September? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.