Conor McGregor is set to make his much anticipated return to the Octagon in 2024 against Michael Chandler but has been spotted in a video online squaring up to another MMA fighter.
While the official fight date is not yet confirmed, the Irishman has not stepped into the cage since his loss against Dustin Poirier back in 2021, where ‘The Notorious’ suffered a nasty leg injury.
On Friday, a video was posted online showing McGregor staring down former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan in an intense yet jovial head-to-head encounter at the IBA Night of Champions.
In the video, the pair were seen stepping into the ring before squaring up to each other.
As they came face to face, they were held held apart by the IBA’s president.
Conor McGregor and Petr Yan squared off at the IBA Night of Champions in Dubai
The pair were seen in a video stepping into the ring before going head-to-head with each other
Yan, who boasts a fight record of 16-5-0, last fought in March where he was beaten by Merab Dvalishvili via a unanimous decision.
He delivered a stern look as he squared up to McGregor, who equally shot an intense glare back at the Russian fighter.
While a fight between the pair is very unlikely to come about, they appeared to shout several jibes at each other when a microphone was positioned between them.
But after a few moments, the fighters subsequently broke down in laughter and reached out to embrace one each other.
Despite the tense initial face-off, the pair broke out into laughter before embracing each other
McGregor has not fought since July 2021, where he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier
Yan has previously called McGregor out on social media after the Irishman said he’d ‘rip him up’
It comes after the pair had once shared some jibes on social media, with Yan calling McGregor out after the Irishman claimed in 2021 he would ‘rip him up’.
Yan replied: ‘Conor, we all know that you like to talk, but let’s get straight to the point if you really want to box or fight, I don’t care about the weight or the rules. I bet you won’t show up.’
The Russian has lost three of his last bouts and currently does not have a fight lined up.
