MMA has been without its biggest star for too longCredit: Getty

McGregor is booked to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler.

The two men filmed a series of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ together and spent much of 2023 talking up their eagerly anticipated match-up.

Many believe they will clash in April of next year, and John Kavanagh, who has coached ‘Notorious’ since the start of his career, believes that is a likely scenario.

The SBG Ireland head coach also insisted his star pupil is fully committed to MMA despite the fact he often portrays himself as a party animal on social media.

“I wouldn’t get too lost in seeing something on Instagram and thinking, ‘Oh, he’s doing that every night,’” Kavanagh told talkSPORT.com.

“He’s training very regular now, he’s very committed.

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year he’ll definitely have his comeback.”

UFC 300 is seen as the ideal return card, but Kavanagh believes McGregor will take the earliest opportunity he gets to finally step back inside the Octagon.

3’Notorious’ has been waiting for his comeback fight all yearCredit: @TheNotoriousMMA – Twitter

Kavanagh spoke with talkSPORT in New York ahead of UFC 295Credit: TALKSPORT

He added: “Conor just wants to fight.

“If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it.

“If it’s UFC 300, great!

“We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”

UFC CEO Dana White has remained coy on McGregor’s exact fight date, but he recently announced pay-per-view main events for his first three shows of 2024.

It means the earliest ‘Mystic Mac’ will return is April, and the latest he will make his comeback, according to Kavanagh, is by the end of June.

Either way, it looks like it’ll be a very busy year for the MMA legend.

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