UFC: Conor McGregor Will Fight Khabib Nurmagomedov In October, Dana White Confirms

Conor McGregor is set to make his long awaited return to the octagon in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October.

The UFC confirmed on Friday night that McGregor and Nurmagomedov will headline UFC 229 on Oct. 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Irishman hinted earlier in the week that a deal was close and admitted that he was pushing to fight in 2018. But the Russian fighter’s agent made it clear that they will not sign the deal until their demands for the prize money are met.

McGregor’s last fight was against Eddie Alvarez in 2016 which he won via knockout in round two and became the first double champion in the history of the UFC. He held both the lightweight and featherweight titles — but relinquished the latter soon after to allow for a title fight and he was then stripped of his lightweight title earlier this year.

The 30-year-old made a short foray into boxing which resulted in a multi-million dollar fight with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. He is now returning to the octagon where he is most comfortable and will take on the current lightweight champion of the world.

The lightweight title was open after McGregor was stripped of the title and Nurmagomedov inherited it after beating Al Iaquinta in five rounds at UFC 223 in April this year. McGregor and the Russian share a personal rivalry and it was intensified further after the former attacked a UFC fighter’s bus in which the latter was traveling.

"The Notorious" as he is popularly known, avoided prison after pleading guilty to a single violation of disorderly conduct after initially being charged with 12 criminal charges. He must complete community service and anger management classes as part of his punishment.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov were not present when Dana White, president of the UFC, made the announcement during the UFC’s 25th anniversary celebrations on Friday night.

“We have one last thing we want to show you,” White said as the celebrations drew to a close and a promotional video announcing the fight was showcased to the media and guests that were present at the event.

“They're not here unfortunately. But the fight is done, October, Las Vegas, it's on ladies and gentlemen,” the UFC president added.

Nurmagomedov also confirmed the deal had been agreed via an Instagram post on his official account.

The Russian fighter is certain to be raring to go and will want revenge for the bus attack. At the time of the attack, he had made it clear to McGregor that he was willing to settle any beef they had in the octagon, stating: “Tell me the place and I will be there.”

The fight between the two is being billed as the biggest in UFC history owing to the intense personal rivalry between the fighters.