Conor McGregor hasn't fought in UFC for over a year now, but in the past week or so, there has been a strong indication that the next time Notorious decides to fight, it will be inside an Octagon with UFC, rather than inside a boxing ring.

McGregor hasn't competed in the UFC since 2016 when he won the lightweight championship with a second-round TKO against Eddie Alvarez. He since went on to box in a losing effort against Floyd Mayweather back in August.

It was only last week that the UFC Lightweight Champion announced during an impromptu interview in New York with TMZ Sports that he wants to have a 'real fight' next, which he classes as an MMA fight inside the Octagon with UFC, rather than boxing in a ring.

Notorious further backed up this quote on his Instagram account, posting a picture that is bound to get his fans, as well as MMA and UFC fans in general, very excited for his return, which is expected to happen in the early parts of 2018.

McGregor posted a picture of him in training in Straight Blast Gym, which you can see for yourself further down in this article, with the caption: "Solid rounds tonight at @sbgireland".

This photo supports what the Irishman told to TMZ Sports last week, as he said: "I think a true fight is what I want to do next. A real fight, what’s a real fight? MMA next."

Most likely, Notorious' next fight will be a lightweight title unification fight with the interim UFC Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson. Hopefully, this fight will take place at some point in early 2018.

UFC 222 on March 3 could be a good spot for this fight to happen, as the UFC pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is yet to be given a main event fight.

However, McGregor has stated he wants to fight on his terms, meaning it could still be some time before we see him fight again, depending on how well talks go between himself and the UFC.