Conor McGregor unveils new training octagon, pretty much confirms Dustin Poirier rematch

Conor McGregor's return to UFC might not be that far, after all. The Notorious, who announced his retirement for UFC back in June this year, dropped a major hint on his comeback after he recently acquired a full-size octagon in his native Dublin for training. McGregor is rumoured to be in negotiations to face former interim Lightweight Champion, Dustin Poirier.

Despite insisting that he is done with UFC for good, the Irish MMA star was repeatedly linked with a return to the octagon. The 32-year-old himself stirred the rumour mill after he leaked his chats with UFC President Dana White where McGregor made several requests for another bout but was eventually shot down by White. In another tweet, McGregor also announced his return to boxing to face legend Manny Pacquiao, in a super fight scheduled for early-2021 in the Middle East. 

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Conor McGregor UFC return?

Conor McGregor had been on a vacation in France and Italy, where he started training for his boxing return. He returned to Ireland in order to step up his training regimen. On Thursday, the 32-year-old revealed his "20-foot knock box," hinting a UFC return might be in the cards for the Notorious. 

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The same day, Conor McGregor also responded to a tweet from Dustin Poirier, stating he has accepted his challenge for a fight. However, McGregor noted he is willing to fight Poirier in 2020 itself, mentioning three of the potential dates for a rematch. 

Poirier was quick to respond to McGregor's tweet, stating he would love to face the former two-division UFC champ in the octagon. Poirier then went on to urge UFC to make the fight official as soon as possible. 

Per reports, UFC had offered the fight to McGregor wo weeks ago for UFC 257, scheduled for January 23, 2021. While McGregor was on board with the fight, he wanted it to take place in 2020. It is believed that McGregor's representatives are awaiting a reply from UFC.

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If officially booked, the fight will serve as the rematch to their 2014 match at UFC 178 - McGregor won the fight via a Round 1 TKO. McGregor's last bout in the UFC came earlier this year when he knocked out 37-year-old Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. Since his win over Cerrone, McGregor repeatedly tried to get a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title - Khabib scored a submission victory over McGregor in 2018. 

Khabib has since moved onto various feuds. He will defend his title against interim champ Justin Gaethje later this month at UFC 254. 

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(Image Credits: Conor McGregor Instagram)