IT'S A DATE
Conor McGregor blasts Dana White’s claim he WON’T fight this year as he reveals proposed date for UFC return
The Notorious hasn't minced his words in his latest message to the UFC bigwig
CONOR MCGREGOR has hit out at Dana White's claim that he WON'T make his octagon return this year.
The Irishman was due to make his cage comeback against Michael Chandler in June but was forced out of their long-overdue showdown due to injury.
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McGregor, the UFC's first simultaneous two-weight world champion, hasn't given up hope of making his grand return by year's end.
Those hopes, however, were publicly dashed by White earlier this week and prompted a fierce X response from The Notorious.
The 36-year-old wrote on the social media app: "Ah Dana. December is the date!
"Bring the calendar year home with a winning event! Come on now, what’s this?
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"I am off to altitude next month to prepare. December. Tell Dana and UFC we want December! We deserve December."
White is confident McGregor will return to the octagon, just not this year.
The 55-year-old said: "We didn't meet up but we talked, and yeah, [McGregor] wants to fight.
"So we'll figure it out. [But] not this year. He won't fight this year."
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Inside McGregor's Notorious lifestyle
With more sides to his personality than an Octagon, Conor McGregor's rise has been an enthralling watch.
Going from UFC icon to entrepreneur and Hollywood star, the Irishman has transcended the sport he helped bring to the masses.
He has four children with fiancee Dee Devlin and the family enjoy a lavish lifestyle.
McGregor has not fought in UFC since breaking his leg in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in 2021.
That has not stopped him amassing a net worth of over £150m thanks to his Proper No Twelve whiskey and fashion line.
And he is due to return to the Octagon at UFC 303 in an eagerly-awaited headline clash with Michael Chandler.
McGregor also starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the Amazon Prime remake of classic movie Road House, although he is dreading his mum seeing one X-rated scene.
Notorious turned up to the premiere in a £60,000 suit that was outdone by his £460k watch.
The only thing sharper than his fashion sense is his tongue and the Dubliner has several bitter spats under his belt, including with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
That row led to one of his biggest controversies in 2018 as he travelled 3,000 miles to confront Khabib in a vicious attack on his bus.
He pleaded guilty to assault after punching a man in a pub in 2018 and had his £150k Bentley seized by police for driving offences four years later.
Joe Rogan lashed out at McGregor in a four-letter outburst and the Irishman has also fired shots at Jake Paul, KSI and Tommy Fury.
Boxing great Floyd Mayweather also has McGregor on his enemy list after the pair clashed in a cross-sport bout in 2017.
Read all of our latest Conor McGregor stories.
McGregor hasn't set foot inside the cage since shattering his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier over three years ago.
The Irishman underwent a painstaking rehab to get himself fighting fit.
Watch never-before-seen footage of Conor McGregor vs Khabib with audio of exactly what was said between hated UFC rivals
But a broken left pinky toe in one of his final sparring sessions scuppered his eagerly-anticipated comeback bout.
The UFC have yet to announce a date for their final pay-per-view card of the year, although it's rumoured to be in the works for December 14.
And in a recent interview with SunSport, McGregor doubled down on his desire to close out the UFC's pay-per-view calendar.
The former featherweight and lightweight champion told SunSport: "That sounds good to me.
"That sounds good to me brother."