From fighting at least twice a year during the onset of his UFC debut, Conor McGregor has not seen action for more than a year now. But during a news conference in Ukraine on Wednesday, “The Notorious” gave a brief and vague update on his Octagon return.
“We’re very close to announcing it, not just yet,” McGregor said (via ESPN). “But surely over the course of this trip we should have an announcement. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
McGregor also went on to explain the irregularity of his fights over the past couple of years, pointing to “politics” as a reason.
“I used to fight every couple of weeks, really, before the UFC came, then it was every couple of months. Now the politics of the prize got involved, and it’s almost, I fight one and then I go off,” McGregor explained. “I do not like that. You can’t be like that in this game. I must continue.
“Consistency is another word. You must be consistent. Once we get past the politics of this, I will continue to go. I’ve had very little damage inside the Octagon. So I’m eager to get going and continue.
“Like if I look at the run I had up to Eddie Alvarez, when I won the second world title, it was consecutive bouts … bout, bout bout. So I went into that Eddie Alvarez fight sharp and aware, fully prepared. And what happened that night was one of the greatest performances in any title fight ever in the UFC. So that’s what we’re looking to continue on the next time.”
While it has yet to be finalized, McGregor is looking to face former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. And at this point, he says he is only after the competition and not so much of the money.
“I just want to compete now,” he said. “I was trying to get on the Dec. 14 card. For whatever reason, they’ve been holding me back. I’m giving them dates. I’m saying I want to fight this date, this date, this date in a row. And we had opponents selected and everything and they’re just making it very difficult for me for whatever reason.
”So now I’m kind of in a position where I’m attempting to set up an event, a charity event. I’ve done this before in my hometown, but I’ve done it as an amateur boxing event in my old boxing club. But I want to do it in mixed martial arts competition, also. Create an event, find an opponent, compete, zero prize.
“I do not care about the prize. The prize is in my home,” he continued. “I have five prizes in my home that I seek to get; I got them. I just want to compete now. I want to come back, I want to get sharp, I want to show the best of myself, and continue to climb.
“That’s what I’m seeking to do, so we’re looking to do that some time in December. Hopefully have a charity mixed martial arts event for zero prize, the prize will go to charity.”
McGregor last fought at UFC 229 in October 2018, where he was stopped by Khabib Nurmagomedov via fourth-round submission.