Conor McGregor has raised doubts his UFC comeback may be further delayed until the end of the year as he continues to wait for an official date for his return.
McGregor hasn't fought in the UFC since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021.
He was expected to make his return last year against Michael Chandler after both were rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, but the bout was delayed due to McGregor being removed from the USADA testing pool.
The 35-year-old then sensationally announced he would be fighting Chandler in June this year at a UFC event in Las Vegas.
Conor McGregor wants his UFC return confirmed soon
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But three months after McGregor's announcement and there has been no official confirmation from the UFC on the Chandler fight taking place.
McGregor is still hopeful of a breakthrough being made in the near future as his promotion tour for the movie Road House comes to a close.
However, he raised some fears that a fight may not take place until later in the year.
“I’ve got two fights left on my UFC contract and we’re still in the first quarter of 2024," he told talkSPORT.
"I hope we get some clarity with the [return] date, and we can push towards it.
"I’m sure we’ll get something in by year’s end, that’s what I’m hoping.
"I need discussion or conversation because if I lose interest and I’m not getting anything back, I’ll just drift off."
McGregor added that he was hopeful of getting "dialed in" following his marketing tour for Road House.
Chandler remains McGregor's priority for his long-awaited return, but the two-weight champion also has his eyes on two other potential opponents.
Conor McGregor features in the Road House film
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He said: "Chandler, of course, I would assume that would be the first one.”
McGregor also talked up a fourth fight with Dustin Poirier after watching his former rival win at UFC 299.
“It was good to see [Dustin] Poirier get that win at the weekend, that makes this the quadrilogy – we’ll say the ‘real trilogy’, [that would] really to finish it and put an end to it, that is a huge bout right now.
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"I anticipated that the result would go that way and I was happy to see it, and that’s a great one for sure.”
Completing the trilogy with Nate Diaz is also on McGregor's mind, although he was taken aback by the public backlash the idea has received.
“Obviously, I’ve also got the Diaz trilogy, that’s what I said for The Sphere but there was cold water put on that publicly off the bat, I wasn’t happy about that.”