Conor McGregor exclusive: UFC legend says 'talks are ongoing' over potential return to Octagon in 2024

Conor McGregor has told TNT Sports in an exclusive interview that "talks are ongoing" about a potential return to UFC later this year.

The Irishman has not stepped into the Octagon since suffering a broken leg in a trilogy defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021.

On New Year’s Eve, the 35-year-old announced that he would make his long-awaited return this summer against Michael Chandler, with the latter also "confident" a fight between the two can take place.

Speaking to TNT Sports, McGregor said there is still plenty of time left for him to return and there could yet be more than one bout on the cards for him.

"The UFC truly is stellar, and it has allowed me to pursue my dreams," he said. "To pursue my goal of success and adoration and world championships. I’m forever indebted to the UFC and forever grateful to be a part of this amazing company.

"I hope long may it continue. A few fights left on my contract, hopefully this year we can do this and we’re still in the first quarter of 2024, so there’s a lot of time left. I’m confident in that and the talks are ongoing and after that, I would still wish to be a part of the UFC, so let’s see how it goes."

Previously, McGregor said his fight against Chandler would take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week on June 29, but there has been no response yet from the UFC to officially confirm the bout.

McGregor has a lot of options this summer and newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria recently said he wants to fight the Irishman at Real Madrid's stadium, calling it a "now or never" situation.

The former featherweight and lightweight champion added that he was influenced by Mike Tyson who continues to feature in exhibition fights at the age of 57.

McGregor said that he doesn't see age as a limit and will continue to pursue fights in the future as long as there's an audience for it.

"Mike Tyson is fighting Jake Paul [and] he fought Roy Jones also," McGregor explained. "There you go, that’s an older guy. There’s a reason in jujitsu tournaments where there’s the veterans, the visions and all of this.

"I don’t think I could ever call it a day until I’m laid out flat in a box and going down into the ground. That’s when I will call it a day.

"So something that really struck me with Mike Tyson was he was asked in an interview around the Roy Jones Jr fight: ‘What do you think Cus D'Amato – who was his mentor and coach – would say to you after all these years? Why come back now?'

"And what Tyson said really struck me, he said: ‘What Cus would say to me is what took you so long?’ And that really hit me. It’s almost like people get weighted down with the pressure of life and uncertainty.

"You see a lot of people in their post-fight – even most recent with Dustin [Poirie] and [Alexander] Volkanovski - many fighters. Even Georges St-Pierre when he originally retired, it’s like a weight of something atop them.

"And they just allowed it to take them right out of the game. I’m aware that that’s present, that feeling whatever it is, but I’m also aware that rest, recuperation, recalibration. I’m not going to be 40-odd and looking at the 19-year wonderkid from wherever he’s from, even though they might be calling me out.

"Look at all of my potential opponents I have. I have gangs of opponents I could fight that I have history with. Trilogies, secondary fights, fresh fights even… these are all a similar age to me.

"So if these people are a similar age to me and I have an audience interest, which I do, who’s to say these fights won’t take place whenever they take place. It’s to the grave my man."

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