Conor McGregor return 'on the goal line' with opponent and date confirmed

Ariel Helwani has confirmed that a deal for Conor McGregor's comeback fight is 'on the goal line' ahead of his expected return this summer.

On Saturday night the UFC kicked off what promises to be an exciting couple of months for MMA fans with Sean Strickland's shock middleweight title win over Khamzat Chimaev only the beginning.

In June, the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. will host UFC Freedom 250, a special event celebrating the anniversary of America's independence headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, with Alex Pereira making his heavyweight debut in the co-main event.

And one month later, it has been widely speculated that former two-weight champion McGregor will make his return to the octagon five years after he was knocked out in the first round by rival Dustin Poirier following a leg injury.

McGregor's return is yet to be officially confirmed, despite a belief that it would be announced ahead of Chimaev v Strickland on Saturday, but according to Helwani a deal to fight former featherweight champion Max Holloway is now in the final stages and will be revealed any day now.

"I was the first person to tell you Conor was coming back. I was the first person to tell you that it's going to be Conor versus Max," he said on the Ariel Helwani Show.

"In the flow of our live show on Friday, I did say, 'I can't wait in 24 hours, I'm going to shove it down all your throats.' I was a little excited. I can't dictate or decide or tell you when they're going to announce things, because that's arbitrary.

"What I can tell you are the facts. I will never get wrong fight bookings, matchups, things of that nature. Packages, all that, I don't know when they're going to do that.

"But I'm telling you, if you don't believe me, you're going to be proven wrong. As of right now, they're on the goal line. They're on the goal line right now. Goal line. I've never said it's signed, sealed and delivered.

"Something awful has to happen for this fight not to come to fruition on July 11th. A massive, massive 11th hour atomic bomb of a right turn will have to happen. As of right now, there is none of that. It is not in signed, but they're at the goal line. They haven't scored the touchdown."

What are the rumoured details of McGregor's comeback?

According to Helwani, McGregor v Holloway will headline the international fight week card set to take place on July 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the co-main event of the card, it is expected that Liverpool's Paddy Pimblett will fight Benoit Saint-Denis with Cory Sandhagen rematching Mario Bautista and highly-rated American wrestler Gable Stevenson making his debut elsewhere on the card.