Conor McGregor says UFC is ‘holding me back’ from making return to Octagon
- Irishman says he’s given the UFC plenty of dates and opponents for his return, including December 14 in Las Vegas
- ‘I just want to compete now … they’re making it very difficult for me for whatever reason’
Conor McGregor has said he’s ready to compete now, but that the UFC is “holding me back”.
The Irishman has not fought in the Octagon since an October 2018 defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov, but has been angling for a return as early as UFC 245 in Las Vegas on December 14.
“I just want to compete now,” he said on a press tour in Ukraine. “I was trying to get on the December 14 card. For whatever reason, they've been holding me back. I'm giving them dates. I'm saying I want to fight this date, this date, this date in a row.
“And we had opponents selected and everything and they're just making it very difficult for me for whatever reason.”
McGregor and Frankie Edgar both agreed to fight each other on the Vegas card, but UFC president Dana White shut the idea down, saying it “makes no sense”.