Conor McGregor to return to UFC in January

Conor McGregor announced his retirement from MMA in March but it seems like he can't quite quit the sport. His return to UFC is now official with president Dana White confirming his comeback fight against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 246 in Las Vegas on January 18.

Talking to ESPN on Thursday, White said, "Conor has signed and 'Cowboy' is ready to go."

McGregor (21-4) will fight the 36-year-old American in a welterweight bout, his third following the 2016 contests with Nate Diaz. Cerrone (36-13) previously lost six of his last 10 fights.

Assuring that he is "in prime physical condition", the Irish MMA fighter said last week, "That will be the beginning of my season. I will then look to compete against the winner of Nate Diaz – Jorge Masvidal."

"Obviously, I have history with Nate Diaz, we are set to make the trilogy bout, so we will see how that goes", he adds. "Then I will seek [a] Moscow bout and it will be against the winner of Tony Ferguson v Khabib Nurmagomedov... that is the bout we want. We want this bout in Moscow."

It's not the first time Conor McGregor returns from retirement. Following his loss to Nate Diaz in 2016, the Crumlin native announced that he'll quit the sport, only to return a few days later.

In addition to his rocky relationship with UFC, McGregor also had multiple run-ins with the law over the years. He was arrested numerous times - for robbery and criminal damage earlier this year and for three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief in 2018, to name a few.

Check out our 2013 interview with Conor McGregor here.