Conor McGregor's next fight will not be in the UFC, according to an announcement from the president of the bare knuckle promotion he is involved in.
McGregor has not fought since he broke his leg in the first round of a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
The Notorious was scheduled to make his return against Michael Chandler, his Ultimate Fighter rival, at UFC 303 in June 2024.
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However, McGregor suffered a broken toe which caused him to withdraw from the bout and he has been absent from the UFC picture ever since amid a string of misdemeanours and controversies.
Appearing on the 'Pardon My Take' podcast, UFC president Dana White revealed that McGregor was back in the testing pool and desperately wants to compete on Donald Trump's planned White House card.
That is despite rumours that he had been removed from the UFC roster.
However, David Feldman of BKFC, claims that his business partner is targeting his next fight to be outside of UFC against Jeremy Stephens or Mike Perry.
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The former UFC fighters, who McGregor has history with, meet in a middleweight main event encounter in Newark, New Jersey on 4 October.
Speaking at a press conference event, he said: "We were supposed to have my partner, my friend Conor McGregor - he was going to be here today but couldn't make it at the last minute.
"He's actually very focused, it's the best McGregor I've ever seen. He's training hard and he's focused because one of you two guys (Stephens and Perry) is probably his next fight".
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However, the news was met with surprise from fight fans given McGregor is still under contract with the UFC.
One fan wrote: Isn’t he under contract at the ufc? How does that work then?"
A second stated: "Impossible he's still under contract with big daddy Dana."
Another added: "I’ll believe it when I see it."
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A final person fumed: "Imagine being this stupid to get up on the mic and talk this total nonsense."
McGregor and Perry had a face-off at a press conference last month after 'Platinum' was said to have been sacked by the former two-weight UFC champion following his boxing defeat to Jake Paul.
McGregor told him to "dance" for him and said he had "welcomed" him back into the fold. Perry later said a showdown with McGregor "makes a lot of sense" and that he would "love" to square off with him under the BKFC umbrella.
Topics: Conor McGregor, UFC, MMA
Josh Lawless