Its been quite some time since mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have seen Conor McGregor compete inside the Octagon.

The Irishman's last fight took place in November of 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 for the lightweight championship. After that, McGregor went on a long hiatus to enjoy the birth of his first child.

He then accepted a big-money boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. that went down last August. Of course, McGregor was unable to pick up the win as he gassed out and lost via 10th round TKO.

Now, McGregor is free to return to the Octagon, but recent legal issues seem to be preventing that from happening. The Notorious One ambushed UFC media day before the UFC 223 pay-per-view (PPV).

McGregor and some of his friends stormed the parking lot which held two UFC fighter buses and assaulted them by throwing things at them. The former lightweight champ threw a dolly that shattered one window and injured several fighters.

He was subsequently arrested in New York after turning himself in. McGregor's reason for the attack was seeking out revenge for his teammate, Artem Lobov, who had been threatened by Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier that week.

Now McGregor wants a piece of the Russian, who is the UFC's new 155-pound champion, in order to settle their personal differences. 

It looks like that could very well be in the UFC's plans. It was announced that the UFC will be making its highly-anticipated debut in Moscow, Russia.

Russia, the native land of Nurmagomedov, has long been discussed as the potential battle grounds for a fight between the lightweight champion and McGregor.

The UFC's announcement of the event indicates that it will be a Fight Night, which means the card will air on FS1 or another FOX affiliate for free.

That could potentially change and turn into a PPV, however, if the UFC wants to book Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor at the event.

Here's the announcement from UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content David Shaw (quotes via MMA Mania):

“Russia is a key part of UFC’s international expansion strategy,” UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content David Shaw said in today’s release.

“The demand from our fans to bring a live event to Russia has been overwhelming, and with the vast potential this market holds for us, we knew this was the perfect time to bring UFC Fight Night to Moscow.”

With all that being said, perhaps UFC President Dana White sticks to his guns and holds off McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov for a PPV event in Las Vegas.

But the promotion would be passing up a huge opportunity to sell out a major arena in Russia by bringing it to Nurmagomedov's homeland.

What are your thoughts on the UFC announcing a Fight Night event in Moscow? Do you think that they'll change it to a PPV event and have McGregor fight Nurmagomedov? Or will that fight be saved for a Vegas or Madison Square Garden card? Let us know your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below!

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