CONOR McGREGOR will return in 2024 as the huge UFC 300 card nears.
The Irishman has had a frustrating time on the sidelines since breaking his leg in July 2021.
Conor McGregor with his head coach John Kavanagh
McGregor must complete six months of clean testing before he is eligible to fight again.
It would line him up to headline UFC 300 but his coach John Kavanagh refused to confirm if that is the plan or not.
Kavanagh told talkSPORT: “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 – which is also without a date or venue – has been touted as the perfect card for McGregor to return on.
But Kavanagh knows the former two-weight champion would make his comeback on the next available slot if possible.
He said: “Conor just wants to fight.
“If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it. If it’s UFC 300, great!
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“We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”
McGregor, 35, is set to return against Michael Chandler, 37, after the pair coached on reality series The Ultimate Fighter.
And UFC legend Daniel Cormier predicted the blockbuster bout will land on the historic UFC 300 card.
He said on his ESPN show: “UFC 100 had Brock [Lesnar], right? With Georges St-Pierre and all those guys.
“UFC 200 had Brock, it was supposed to me and [Jon] Jones also but it ended up being me, Anderson Silva, Brock, all these guys, big names.
“UFC 300 has to have a name like that. We don’t have Brock Lesnar anymore.
“So, I think you have to have a Conor McGregor versus Michael Chandler. I think Michael Chandler gets his shot now, in the main event.
“Boy, Michael Chandler will headline UFC 300, how crazy is that?”
McGregor is set to fight Michael Chandler in his UFC return