Conor McGregor is apparently desperate for a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov but will have to fight his way back to the top before he challenges the current UFC lightweight champion.
McGregor has not fought since his conclusive UFC 229 loss to Nurmagomedov last year, a bout in which he was dropped by a thudding right hand in the second round before being submitted with a tight neck crank in the fourth.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, defended his title in another statement win against Dustin Poirier at the UFC 242 event in Abu Dhabi, in September.
There has been rumors of a McGregor comeback, and the Irish striker is even linked with four fighters, including a boxing rules contest against the Dublin middleweight Luke Keeler.
But the UFC president Dana White has said there are good fights available to him in the UFC, even though he isn't the man anymore and doesn't get to call the shots.
"Khabib is the man now," White told the Boston Globe. "Conor isn't the man anymore, so Khabib gets to sit back and call the shots."
Nurmagomedov could return to the Octagon in March or April next year, potentially against the well-rounded mixed martial artist Tony Ferguson.
"If you're Khabib, you got the Tony Ferguson fight, George St. Pierre wants to fight, and you've got the Conor McGregor fight."
As for McGregor, there's the winner of November's anticipated "baddest mother-f----- in the game" bout between McGregor's old rival Nate Diaz and emerging star Jorge Masvidal.
"Next month at Madison Square Garden, we've got Diaz vs Masvidal, sold out. So whoever wins that fight could fight McGregor.
"We've got [Donald] 'Cowboy' Cerrone, we've got Justin Gaethje, but what Conor wants right now really is the Khabib rematch. So we'll see how that whole thing plays out."
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