Conor McGregor issued 'now or never' ultimatum as UFC star provides worrying update

Conor McGregor has been issued a 'now or never' ultimatum as he provides a worrying update on his UFC return.

McGregor is still looking for a date for his UFC return as he eyes International Fight Week on June 29.

Fans had spotted a clue in a recent interview he gave ahead of UFC 299.

Michael Chandler is set to welcome McGregor back to the famed Octagon, having coached against him on The Ultimate Fighter.

But if Ilia Topuria has his way, then he'll stand opposite the Irishman in the cage when he returns.

Topuria, who dethroned Alexander Volkanovski of the UFC featherweight title, has once again called for a showdown against the 'Notorious'.

What's more, he's eyeing a clash at Real Madrid's Bernabeu.

"The plans remain the same with the fight with Conor," he said. "I have my preferences. I would fight Conor, I would be No. 1. But it would be now or never with him.

"My dream was to be the best; to have my Spanish ID. And now it's to fight at the Bernabeu. And here I will fight, yes or yes. I am a realistic person. He is the only one who is ready to do this event. Everything is lined up. I think we will have an event at the end of this year.

"I really have a lot of admiration and respect for this man for everything he did in the sport. It is a b****** to hate him. Then everything he did in his personal life... it's one thing. I don't like to judge people without knowing them. But he's an icon in the sport."

Ilia Topuria on the pitch at the Bernabeu. Image: Getty

But locking McGregor down to a UFC date seems problematic, with the 35-year-old already missing out on two dates.

He revealed that he's had two training camps as he looks to secure his first UFC fight since July 2021.

“I had a camp in Cannes, the south of France, I had a camp in Dubai, world champions training with me where I was hoping for a December date, then a January date, then it keeps getting pushed back, then I lose interest and stop training for a while," he explained.

"Not stop training, I’m always training, but stop full training and [start] drinking a little bit. So, I’m going to go back, regroup, get full tested, and get ready to rock. The date’s going to come and then I’ll be ready to rock."

Topics: UFC, Conor McGregor

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar