Conor McGregor's long-awaited return to the UFC Octagon is now only days away.
By the time he steps into the cage for his Fight Island clash with Dustin Poirier, it will have been more than a year since his last bout.
On that occasion, he blew American Donald Cerrone away with a frightfully efficient performance, winning the fight by knock out in just 40 seconds.
McGregor's resurgence in the UFC has seen his global stock continue to rise and rumours of a potential rematch with unbeaten 29-0 star Khabib Nurmagomedov really began to gather pace.
Sadly, the Dagestan warrior put those rumours to bed when he promptly announced his retirement from the sport following his win over Justin Gaethje in October 2020.
However, it seems that UFC president Dana White still harbours dreams of making that fight happen and plans to meet with Khabib on Fight Island this week.
And it seems that White is not the only one still pulling for McGregor vs Nurmagomedov 2, with the Irish star himself noticeably upping the the level of trash talk targeted at his long-time rival.
Speaking in the lead up to his Poirier clash, McGregor couldn't help but take a pop at Khabib while speaking to TheMacLife.
He's looking like an elephant, he's looking like a little fat elephant
"He's enjoying himself, I don't think he made weight the last time either, I was very sceptical, it was very unusual behaviour."
McGregor then went on to attack Khabib's 'baffling' decision to retire.
"How he can walk away at this stage is baffling to me but each to their own, there are so many amazing fights out there.
"Even the Tony [Ferguson] fight… I don't care about nothing, you're scheduled to fight a man and no matter what the fight must take place.
"You don't scurry away from fights but it's been a hallmark of his career; I was not surprised to see him scurry away."
It's clear to see that McGregor is desperately trying to goad Khabib in a bid to coax him out of retirement.
Whether the two-prong approach from White and McGregor pays off, however, remains to be seen.