Conor McGregor has said he is in line for a July return to the UFC, advising lightweight champion Charles Oliveira to wait for him instead of defending the title against Justin Gaethje.
McGregor fought twice in 2021, suffering a knockout loss to rival Dustin Poirier in January before sustaining a broken leg in the pair’s trilogy bout in July.
The former dual-weight champion was in Dublin to support a number of his teammates and compatriots at a Bellator event on Friday, when he provided an update on his recovery as well as a timeline for his return to the ring.
“April they said I can spar again and box again basically, so I’m just gonna take it day by day,” McGregor told Severe MMA.
“Once I get back sparring I’ll know weight, I’ll know feel, I’ll know my own style. I’m gonna develop a different style, I imagine. I’ve been shadow boxing a bit lately, and I feel like I’m just getting the bearings of myself.
“But I feel good. I’m grounded on my feet, I can stop and start and take off. It’s just the little twists or torque that I’ve gotta be careful on.
“But this will be a ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ type of thing in my own head; the bone will recover, it’ll connect back to itself, and it’ll be like it never happened.”
McGregor, 33, became the UFC’s first ever dual-weight champion after winning the featherweight title in 2015 and lightweight belt in 2016, and he has also competed at welterweight in the promotion.
Having bulked up considerably in recent months, the Irishman admitted he is unsure at which weight he will return.
“I’m not sure yet to be honest – 155lbs or 170lbs, I’d imagine,” McGregor said, though he went on to send a message to lightweight champion Oliveira, who looks set to defend his belt against former interim title holder Gaethje in May.
“Is [that going to happen], though? Is it, though? It’s not announced,” McGregor said.
“Maybe if [Oliveira] is wise, he might give it another month or two. July seems okay for me, I can’t say too early, but I could get in and slap the head off of most of these guys at the end of April.
“No hurry, no rush. I know a lot of people are supporting me, and I wanna do them well. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
Brazilian Oliveira has expressed a desire to defend his belt against McGregor, with Gaethje saying he would “burn down” the UFC if the promotion grants the Irishman a title shot ahead of him.
