On New Year’s Eve 2023, McGregor teased and then announced that he would be coming back in June to fight Michael Chandler at middleweight.

But UFC president Dana White then poured cold water on that. When asked, the 54-year-old said: ‘Uuuuh, no. When Conor is ready to fight, you know we’ll announce it. That’s what we’ll do.’

Conor McGregor is clearly desperate for an announcement on his next fight

‘Notorious’ will have been out of action for three years from this summer

Plenty of fans are still holding out hope that McGregor will be announced as the headliner for the historic UFC 300 card on April 17.

And he hinted that would be the case recently, posting on X: ‘McGregor on 300 seals the deal.’

Chandler replied: ‘I accept, see you soon.’

Chandler and McGregor had been expected to face off inside the octagon after appearing as coaches for the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter show.

Typically, at the end of the season, the two coaches from either side will fight in the UFC however that appears to be far from reality, at the moment.

McGregor has long since healed from the broken leg he suffered in his last fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and he’s re-entered the drug testing pool.

McGregor, seen here in Saudi Arabia with Cristiano Ronaldo, is ready for his comeback

So it remains to be seen why the UFC are yet to announce a date and opponent for their most marketable star.

UFC 300 would be the logical pay-per-view platform for the Dubliner to take centre stage on, but time is growing short if that is to be the case.

Dana White and Co may be uncertain as to what kind of level McGregor can compete at now, with just one win to his name in eight years.