Conor McGregor is jetting off for his first major acting role in the coming days - and will launch his UFC return shortly after.
The Irishman was in court on Thursday and was hit with a further charge of careless driving for an alleged incident in March this year. Speaking with Mirror Fighting after the case was pushed back to November 24, McGregor explained that he plans to get back fighting "soon", after he has filmed the new 'Road House' remake with Jake Gyllenhaal.
It was announced in August that McGregor would be flying out to the Dominican Republic this month to shoot the film with Oscar-nominated Hollywood star Gyllenhaal. It will be his first time on the big screen after previously turning down roles in order to focus on his fighting career, and will be an Amazon Prime Video Original that goes direct to the streaming service.
"I'm just off to shoot this film now," McGregor told Mirror Fighting on Thursday morning. "It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm flying out in a couple of days." Asked when he plans to get back in the Octagon, he responded: "Soon, hopefully soon, after the film."
The Irishman is currently recovering from the broken leg he suffered in July of last year during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. He sprinted through his early rehabilitation and was walking unassisted within a matter of months, but progress has slowed and he is still not cleared for full-intensity sparring, let alone fighting.
His return is expected to take place early next year and he has previously indicated that he would like to make a permanent move to welterweight. The reigning champion is his Paradigm Sports Management stablemate Leon Edwards, who is likely to have to defend his belt against Kamaru Usman before McGregor can find out where he stands in the division.
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A former two-division world champion, McGregor is keen to make even more history by becoming the first fighter to win three belts in the promotion. He became interim featherweight champion in the summer of 2015 when he defeated Chad Mendes, before unifying against Jose Aldo that December.
After two bouts with Nate Diaz in the next eight months, which went each way and created a legendary feud, he became the first fighter to hold two belts simultaneously. He knocked out Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight championship, then moved into boxing for a mega-money fight with Floyd Mayweather.
During his recent time away from the fight game, McGregor has been enjoying the celebrity lifestyle a bit more than previously, attending film premieres and glitzy award ceremonies with his fiancee, Dee Devlin. He has been spotted hanging out with A-listers like Kylie Minogue, Johnny Depp and Justin Bieber over the past year during his lengthy hiatus from competition.
