UFC president Dana White announced Conor McGregor's next fight

Conor McGregor's next fight has seemingly been confirmed by UFC president Dana White.

McGregor, the promotion's lightweight champion, hasn't set foot inside the Octagon since his historic UFC 205 victory over Eddie Alvarez last November, a triumph which saw him become the first fighter in the organisation's history to hold two titles simultaneously.

His hiatus from mixed martial arts was largely down to the impending birth of his first child, Conor Jr, who was born in May.

Dana White has hinted that McGregor will face Tony Ferguson in his UFC return
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However, it was extended in late June when it was announced he'd enter the boxing world to lock horns with Floyd Mayweather Jr, whom he took on in August.

McGregor put on a valiant display against the former five-weight world champion before succumbing to fatigue and being stopped in the tenth round.

Late last month, it was claimed that McGregor's first fight back in the Octagon would see him take on Nate Diaz in a trilogy fight.

That notion was quickly dismissed by White and The Notorious' head coach, John Kavanagh.

White reiterated that fact in the UFC 216 post-fight press conference, insisting McGregor's next fight will be a lightweight title unification fight with Tony Ferguson, the interim 155lbs champion.

Michigan native Ferguson claimed his first UFC title in the main event of UFC 216, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the early hours of the morning.

Tony Ferguson celebrates beating Kevin Lee at UFC 216
The Ultimate Fighter season 13 winner got his hands on the belt by defeating the up and coming Kevin Lee.

Ferguson, who entered the contest as the No.2 ranked lightweight on the planet, defeated Lee via a third round-submission.

Victory over Lee should, in theory, have earned Ferguson the next shot at the undisputed ruler of the lightweight, Conor McGregor.

However, given the UFC's somewhat questionable matchmaking policy in the last 18 months, he's by no means guaranteed to be the man to welcome 'The Notorious' back to the Octagon.

But White appeared to confirm that Ferguson will get a shot at fighting McGregor for the Lightweight title.

"Nobody has talked about Diaz," the UFC chief said. "Diaz has never been talked about. That's internet bulls**t.

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Dana White announces Conor McGregor's opponent for his UFC return
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Dana White announces Conor McGregor's opponent for his UFC return
Ruairi Scott Byrne
BY Ruairi Scott Byrne
October 08, 2017
Conor McGregor's next fight has seemingly been confirmed by UFC president Dana White.

McGregor, the promotion's lightweight champion, hasn't set foot inside the Octagon since his historic UFC 205 victory over Eddie Alvarez last November, a triumph which saw him become the first fighter in the organisation's history to hold two titles simultaneously.

His hiatus from mixed martial arts was largely down to the impending birth of his first child, Conor Jr, who was born in May.

Dana White has hinted that McGregor will face Tony Ferguson in his UFC return
Advertisement

However, it was extended in late June when it was announced he'd enter the boxing world to lock horns with Floyd Mayweather Jr, whom he took on in August.

McGregor put on a valiant display against the former five-weight world champion before succumbing to fatigue and being stopped in the tenth round.

Late last month, it was claimed that McGregor's first fight back in the Octagon would see him take on Nate Diaz in a trilogy fight.

That notion was quickly dismissed by White and The Notorious' head coach, John Kavanagh.

White reiterated that fact in the UFC 216 post-fight press conference, insisting McGregor's next fight will be a lightweight title unification fight with Tony Ferguson, the interim 155lbs champion.

Michigan native Ferguson claimed his first UFC title in the main event of UFC 216, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the early hours of the morning.

Tony Ferguson celebrates beating Kevin Lee at UFC 216
The Ultimate Fighter season 13 winner got his hands on the belt by defeating the up and coming Kevin Lee.

Ferguson, who entered the contest as the No.2 ranked lightweight on the planet, defeated Lee via a third round-submission.

Victory over Lee should, in theory, have earned Ferguson the next shot at the undisputed ruler of the lightweight, Conor McGregor.

However, given the UFC's somewhat questionable matchmaking policy in the last 18 months, he's by no means guaranteed to be the man to welcome 'The Notorious' back to the Octagon.

But White appeared to confirm that Ferguson will get a shot at fighting McGregor for the Lightweight title.

"Nobody has talked about Diaz," the UFC chief said. "Diaz has never been talked about. That's internet bulls**t.

"Tony is the interim champion, Conor is the champion, it's the fight that makes sense.

"It's the fight that has to happen. It doesn't make sense, it's the fight that has to happen."

And the fight could take place a lot sooner than expected, with White suggesting that the Irishman is eyeing a return to the Octagon before the end of the year.

"We didn't talk about it, but we talked about it kinda. He wants to fight again this year. He does want to fight again this year. He went and partied in Ibiza for a while and went home for a while. You've got to let him blow off some steam and then we'll figure it out."

Immediately after registering his tenth win on the bounce, Ferguson took aim at McGregor, urging him to end his hiatus and defend his title.

"Where you at McNuggets, you f**king piece of shit?" Ferguson said in his post-fight interview. "You better defend that title or vacate!"

Last month, McGregor hinted he'll fight the winner of Ferguson vs. Lee at a Q&A session in Glasgow by saying: "Diaz is there, Nathan is there. He's sitting there. He's trying to come in and make all these kind of demands.

"But if he starts pricing himself out of an event, then I probably will defend against the winner of this interim belt or someone along that line to kind of legitimise it again.

"I've already gone from the highest of the high in terms of a money fight. Now the question I always get is about defending the belt and legitimising the sport and the rankings.