Conor McGregor's future in the UFC is now up in the air after his defeat to Dustin Poirier.

The Irishman made his highly-anticipated return to the sport in the early hours of Sunday morning on Fight Island.

Most were predicting an easy win for the Notorious in his comeback fight, but Poirier had other ideas in the main event of UFC 257.

'The Diamond' emerged from the bout victorious, producing a dominant display in the Octagon to win by TKO in the second round.

In the aftermath of the fight, much of the narrative has centred on McGregor's next move and who he will fight in the near future.

However, UFC president Dana White has doubts as to whether the Irish superstar has the motivation to continue in the MMA game.

He even suggested that McGregor's lavish lifestyle "makes it tough to be a savage", before comparing the Notorious' predicament to a storyline in Rocky III.

"Look, there is two ways this goes - hungrier or I'm done, he's got the money," White said in the post-fight press conference.

"This is like Rocky III, when you get offered a 300 foot yacht, it is tough to be a savage when he is living like he is.

"When he was a young kid he was hungry, now he has got everything he ever wanted so I don't know, it goes this way or that way."

It's difficult to predict what will happen next in McGregor's sporting career.

Will he remain in the UFC to try and secure a rematch against his arch nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Or will he look to pursue a career in boxing, with Manny Paquiao and YouTuber Jake Paul as potential opponents? We just do not know.

After his defeat at the hands of Poirier, McGregor told the media that he will "keep his eyes on the prize", potentially hinting that he is in fact keen to remain in the UFC.

"It's heart-breaking and hard to take," the Notorious said. "My leg is completely dead. It's like an American football in my suit at the minute.

"If you put in the time in here, you're going to get cosy in here and I just have to dust it off and come back and that's what I will do. I need activity, you don't get away with being inactive in this business.

"As long as you stay active and as long as you compete, things shape around you. You show up, you reap the rewards. That's what happened for Dustin and it's what's happened against me.

"I'll keep my eyes on the prize. Don't write me off yet, I'll make my adjustments and keep moving. I'll go back, get healthy and I'll re-prepare. I've got to a great place in my body physically and I'll continue to grow that."

We'd like to say that McGregor's words are proof he'll remain active in the UFC, but that just cannot be the case.

The Irishman has retired and then returned on so many occasions now, so it's best to just keep an open mind and wait for definitive updates from the man himself, rather than speculating.