There has been a lot of speculation in recent months that Irish professional mixed martial artist Conor McGregor (aka ‘The Notorious’) will make a return to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Octagon after a two-year hiatus.
According to reports, he has ramped up training, and although he missed the window of opportunity in July 2023 to re-enroll by submitting a drug test to the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency), he did manage to ‘submit his stuff’ as he said, this time round.
However, it can take up to six months to be processed before he can return to the Octagon.
How will Conor McGregor’s return impact UFC?
There are two different camps. One camp feels as though McGregor is getting back to his best and will shake up the UFC if he returns, but others that are more sceptical say he is only fighting for one or two final mega pay days before retiring for good and that he will most like lose if he does step back in the Octagon.
The truth is, nobody knows what will happen if he does make a return. It could be a successful comeback or go drastically wrong for him. There’s also no doubt that betting activity at today’s best crypto betting sites will dramatically increase, as he has always been a popular sports personality on which to place a wager.
If he returns to UFC, we won’t likely get to watch him fight until mid-2024. The last time he fought was in July 2023, when he lost in round 1 to Dustin Poirier by KO/TKO.
Are there any more big UFC fights still to come in 2023?
Yes. There are many big UFC fights still to come in 2023. Let’s start by taking a quick look at what’s still to come in October. The following fights will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on October 14 at UFC Fight Night 230:
- Sodiq Yusuf vs Edson Barboza
- Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo
- Jonathon Martinez vs Adrian
You also then have the following fights at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 21 at UFC 294:
- Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Muin Gafurov
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
- Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Charles Oliveira – for UFC Lightweight Championship
Next up is UFC Fight Night 231 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 4. You can watch Rodrigo Nascimento take on Don’Tale Mayes, Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby, and Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida.
Honourable mentions
If that’s not enough to keep you going, you also have UFC 295 on November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jiri Prochazka will take on Alex Pereira for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
There’s also Mackenzie Dern vs. Jessica Andrade, and Diego Lopes vs. Pat Sabatini, and for the UFC Heavyweight Championship title, Jon Jones (c) will be fighting Stipe Miocic.
Other upcoming events include UFC Fight Night 232 (November 18, UFC Apex, Las Vegas), UFC Fight Night 233 (December 2, same place), and UFC 296 (December 16, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas), to name just a few upcoming fights.