UFC president Dana White: Conor McGregor 'wants to fight twice this year'

Good news for Conor McGregor fans and the UFC: The Irishman wants to fight twice this year, per UFC head promoter Dana White.

McGregor hasn't fought since he beat Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title last year, opting to pursue a boxing megafight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and take some time off for the arrival of his baby boy, Conor McGregor Jr.

According to White, Mayweather vs. McGregor, which was targeted for September 16, lost its date to Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin and the UFC president says there is no longer a 'targeted date' for the mega money bout.

"We're not even that far along in the [McGregor-Mayweather] process," White said on a recent appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter (h/t Patrick McCarry of SportsJoe). "So I guess I don't have to worry about the date any more."

Although negotiations between McGregor and Mayweather may have stalled, White revealed that the UFC lightweight champion is hungry to return to competition this year and wants to fight twice.

"Conor wants to fight," he said. "Conor wants to fight Floyd, Conor wants to fight twice this year, so we’ll just have to see how this thing plays out."

The SBG Ireland product sent out a retweet of White's statement shortly after.

If the potential bout between McGregor and Mayweather is pushed back to October/November, it's going to be a tight squeeze for The Notorious to return to the UFC by the end of the year.

If the Mayweather fight falls through, expect McGregor to defend his lightweight strap against Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov.