BBC Sports
Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor will return to the octagon in January for a second fight with Dustin Poirier.
Irishman McGregor, 32, retired in June for the third time in four years.
UFC president Dana White said “it was never a concern” that McGregor would not sign a deal to fight on 23 January at UFC 257.
“If Conor McGregor says he wants to fight, Conor McGregor shows up,” White told Barstool Sports.
White also said he hopes fans will be able to attend.
The UFC has hosted events without fans since the Covid-19 outbreak at White’s private Fight Island, but he is hoping for an “international crowd” for McGregor’s return.
“All the things people have seen all over the world with Fight Island, now you will get the opportunity to come there and be a part of it,” White said. “That’s what I’m shooting for.”
McGregor beat Donald Cerrone in his most recent fight at UFC 246 in January, which gave him a 22-4 record in mixed martial arts.
He said in September he would come out of retirement for a boxing fight with 41-year-old former world champion Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East.
McGregor beat American Poirier, 31, in the opening round of their first meeting in Las Vegas in 2014.
Poirier beat Dan Hooker on points in his most recent fight in June.
