Conor McGregor has teased MMA fans by revealing several details regarding his UFC comeback fight, targeting Dan Hooker as a potential opponent.
The 36-year-old has not entered the octagon since his first-round knockout defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021, back when the American stopped him for the second time.
Since then, the Irishman has largely been focused on his business interests, wishing to build excitement around his co-owned BKFC promotion.
It was, in fact, at his latest BKFC event in Spain where he bumped into Dan Hooker, revealing in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow that the New Zealander is firmly on his hit list.
Dan Hooker tells Ariel Helwani his plan for 2025
As well as highlighting a possible opponent, Conor McGregor has claimed that his next outing will be staged in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of next year.
Hooker, however, has rejected the MMA star’s request, given that his wife is due to give birth to their second daughter in February.
Instead of clashing in February, the UFC’s fifth-ranked lightweight has suggested January or March as potential months, regardless of whether his next fight is against McGregor.
And so, Hooker has confirmed that he is not willing to wait around, knowing that McGregor’s comeback fight is by no means set in stone.
“It’s a fight that makes a lot of sense for him. It makes a lot of sense for me,” Hooker told Ariel Helwani.
“We’re obviously both keen on the fight, but I don’t know what’s going on for him behind the scenes, and I don’t know what’s going on with him and the UFC and their relationship. That’s all I can say.
“I’m fighting early next year. I told the UFC either January or March, and it will be someone in the top five, or Conor McGregor.”
Conor McGregor is seen training for ‘greatest comeback in sports history’
After he sustained an injury ahead of his canceled bout with Michael Chandler several months ago, the MMA community has grown somewhat suspicious of McGregor’s UFC return.
Still, it seems as though the former two-division king is taking his training up a notch, reposting a clip of himself running on X.
And while a short training video is not a lot to go off, it at least makes for a refreshing change from seeing McGregor pouring pints of Forged Irish Stout.
As for his potential clash with Hooker, it is yet to be seen whether the UFC icon is tempted by the 34-year-old’s counter-offer.