Conor McGregor is fight ready. At last. Well, that is if his latest Instagram post is to be believed anyway. The Irishman is preparing himself for a UFC comeback, where he will face three of the most prominent names in the MMA scene if his dream return goes to plan that is.

The proposed plan is that in December, the Irishman will take on Michael Chandler following the conclusion of their battle on The Ultimate Fighter, but he is not done at that point. He will then look to take to the Cctagon twice in 2024 to challenge Justin Gaethje and then possibly finish the trilogy against Nate Diaz.

Of course, this is all rumours and just word from McGregor's mouth so far, nothing is official, nothing is confirmed, and if he were to lose to Chandler in his return fight, should that even happen, then it's unlikely he'll get the Gaethje fight and maybe even the Diaz fight.

Conor McGregor's return to UFC

It has been a long road back to competitive fighting for the former lightweight champion, but UFC fans around the globe will be delighted to see him back. The last time that the 35-year-old fought was back in 2021, where he suffered a horrific double blow during the fight with Dustin Poirier. Not only did he lose the bout, he also suffered a broken tibia and rumours began to soon circulate that it was the last time we would see the UFC legend in the Octagon.

The injury occurred when McGregor stepped back and appeared to badly snap his ankle. It was not just the watching world that thought it was over for McGregor. He revealed during a scene in his Netflix documentary that was released in May that he also thought the incident was career-ending.

He said: “I thought it was over as well, that’s why I flipped into a different mode. Now, it was the adrenaline as well, and I know it would’ve calmed down and part of me is thinking ‘Jesus, imagine it was just taken from me like that.’ I would be a different person, and it was a bit scary, to be honest. But it’s McGregor forever. That’s it! It’s done. It’s McGregor forever and don’t you forget it.”

Conor McGregor's body transformation during his time away

The Irish star’s Netflix documentary named ‘McGregor Forever’ is a four-part series that goes behind the scenes throughout his career, and shows what it takes to be the 35-year-old. Along with his recovery from the injury that threatened to end his career, the former world champion has been spending a lot of time in the gym, bulking up and getting into possibly the best shape of his life. He reportedly hit 190lbs of pure muscle at his biggest, and once his injury problems were in the past, he began sparring again.

McGregor called out Justin Gaethje on Twitter, saying: “Justin, I’ll slap you around. I’m the real bmf, he can fight for pennies if he wants, but I want spirits, I call the shots. I’m in it to launch shots, f*** Chandler, you want it call for it.”

Discussing a potential fight with McGregor earlier this year, Gaethje suggested a fight will not happen unless there is proof that the Notorious is clean.

“I’m not going to fight someone on steroids. I’ve never taken steroids in my life, never will. Well, maybe when I retire I might. I’ve never taken steroids and I don’t want to fight someone who is cheating. I probably shouldn’t say that [because] I want the fight, but it’s the truth.”

McGregor has undergone a series of drugs tests, and he has yet to yield a positive result, which means, as it stands, he is able to take to the Octagon in December to face Chandler.

The 35-year-old has kept himself in the limelight recently, and he even appeared at the Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius event last weekend. As is always the case, controversy followed the UFC star around and his entourage were involved in an unsavoury tussle with security at the O2 Arena.

Conor McGregor's current physique

McGregor’s Irish Stout was a sponsor for the event, and he even managed to get Joshua to take a drink of it following his impressive victory.

Despite only being a few months away from his own fight, McGregor also seems keen to train Dillon Danis during his fight with Logan Paul. Speaking to the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel, he revealed: “Dillon will win for sure. They’re already back-tracking right now, they awoke an animal. I know Dillon years, I’ve trained him many times. I’ve helped him and I’m guiding him. I’m going to train him for this, and I’m going to guarantee a win.”

McGregor also called out YouTuber KSI, he added: “And I know your man KSI is in the crowd, and he couldn’t box eggs if he worked in an egg boxing factory. So, if he wants to get in here, I’ll give him a final yoke, bare-knuckle if you want.”

Read more: Conor McGregor's antics during Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius

Of course, it is unlikely that McGregor will be fighting KSI any time soon as he is preparing for his UFC comeback, and he looks busy, even away from that. But in the crazy world of combat sports, we have learned over the years that anything is possible, especially when it comes to someone like the Irishman.

When he was coming up through the ranks in Ireland, a fight against the biggest name in boxing in the shape of Floyd Mayweather would have been a wild thought – even wilder would be the thought of it being the second-richest bout of all time.

It does seem like we are nearing the end of McGregor’s UFC career, though. The fact that three fights are on his mind could mean that he sees it as a final tour. But then again, it could mean that he’s making himself active again so he can have another shot at a world title. Who knows with McGregor?

We just hope that the fights actually do go ahead because whenever the Irish star is involved, there are fireworks. His Instagram activity constantly keeps everyone on edge, and the recent posts of his impressive physique seem to signal that he means business in the coming months.

The UFC landscape has changed quite a lot since McGregor was last involved back in 2021, but he still remains the biggest draw, and you would expect he will attract the biggest audience yet again. Can he produce the brilliance that he previously did during the prime of his career? Only time will tell.