Former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor has declared he wants to fight for the UFC lightweight belt in his comeback bout next year.
The Irishman hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon since July, where he broke his leg in the first round against Dustin Poirier.
However, since then, McGregor has been on the mend and targeted gold in a set of brazen tweets on Monday.
“I’m facing whoever the f*** has that LW title next. Deal with it,” McGregor wrote.
“Take off your goggles and mark the trilogy ‘unfinished’. Deal with that too. The rest mentioned, after this. Deal. With. It.”
The lightweight belt is currently held by Charles Oliveira, and will be put on the line next month when the Brazilian takes on Poirier at UFC 269.
Should Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier win, it’d make it difficult to justify giving McGregor such a fight on his return.
The ‘Notorious’ has lost back-to-back fights in UFC, both against Poirier, and the prospect of a fourth fight between the two is a hard sell, even for Dana White.
It’s also said that Justin Gaethje, who beat Michael Chandler earlier this month, is entitled to the first shot at gold after Poirier and Oliveira face off.
‘The trilogy’ that McGregor is most likely referring to is that with Poirier, but he could also be referencing his series with Nate Diaz.
Diaz, who was inactive for a three-year spell, has just one fight remaining on his current UFC contract and fans have been suggesting it should be the end to the trilogy with the ‘Notorious’.
The two last fought August 2016 where McGregor took home the spoils, however, with both fighters on a two-fight loss streak it seems the perfect time to mark an end to the rivalry.
McGregor was also scheduled to partake in a charity wheelchair boxing match in December, which has now been moved to March.