UFC president Dana White has given hope to MMA fans wanting to see the much anticipated rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

White explained how he expects the rivals to one day share a mutual respect for each other, which will make a second bout between the Russian and Irishman a reality.

“I don’t think these guys are going to friends and hanging out and going to dinner and stuff.

“But listen, when you get in there with another guy and you fight it out for what would end up being seven, eight, nine, 10 rounds between these two, there ends up becoming a sort of mutual respect.

“And I think that we will get to a point someday where these two have a mutual respect for each other.

“They don’t have to like each other.”

With White saying they could end up sharing 'seven, eight, nine, 10 rounds' with each other, that is a huge hint that a rematch is certainly in the pipeline.

Notorious' and Khabib's feud has been arguably the most heated in the history of the sport, with their hatred for each other spreading far from the Octagon.

The rivalry between the two began last April, when an original incident with McGregor's good friend Artem Lobov led to McGregor flying to Brooklyn and famously getting arrested for attacking Khabib's bus.

The use of personal trash talk by McGregor on Khabib's family, religion and management, led to an immeasurable level of bad blood between the two, leading to a dramatic brawl following the Vegas bout.

Since Khabib defeated McGregor in their UFC 229 grudge match with a fourth-round submission, both fighters have fired verbal insults towards each other, notably on Twitter, where McGregor controversially mocked the Russian's wife.

Now aged 30, McGregor hasn't fought since his defeat to Khabib last October, in which time he's announced and appeared to make a U-turn on a second retirement.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is still serving a nine-month suspension handed to him for initiating the post-fight brawl which took place after UFC 229's main event.

However, the Dagestan-born fighter is expected to return in a lightweight title unification bout against the interim champion Dustin Poirier, who defeated Max Holloway at UFC 236 this month.