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Twenty-nine-year-old McGregor hasn't set foot inside the Octagon since his historic UFC 205 victory over Eddie Alvarez, a triumph which saw him become the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold two titles simultaneously.

McGregor's hiatus, which reached the year mark last weekend, was initially down the imminent arrival of his first child, Conor Jr, who was born in May.

It was extended in June when a multi-million-pound boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr was announced.

Immediately after losing his professional boxing debut, McGregor revealed his intention to return to the UFC to defend his titles.

It was assumed that the Irishman's first fight back in MMA would see him take part in a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz, the man responsible for his sole UFC loss.

However, Tony Ferguson has seemingly moved into pole position to be the man to welcome 'The Notorious' back to the Octagon following his UFC 216 victory over Kevin Lee, which saw him claim the interim lightweight title.

Ferguson's impressive win over Lee, coupled with Diaz's inactivity, has made many want to see McGregor take part in a lightweight title unification fight, including his head coach John Kavanagh

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"Well I’ve been vocal about seeing the Diaz trilogy," Kavanagh told Starsport. "But I have to say, over time, my opinion has changed on that.

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"I kind of hoped that maybe Diaz would stay active and do one or two fights in the meantime. He hasn’t, whereas Tony Ferguson has.

"He’s been very busy and has been very vocal and he keeps on winning - and you have to respect that.

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"He keeps on coming through these fights and winning.

"So it has changed from me being most excited about the Diaz trilogy to now I wanna see him and Tony."

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At this moment in time, it's unknown when McGregor will return to the UFC, who have struggled to replicate the success they had in 2016 without their poster boy.

According to Kavanagh, McGregor's eagerly-anticipated comeback will take place in April at the earliest.

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Kavanagh dropped the bombshell to Farah Hannoun at the IMMAF World Championships in Bahrain earlier this week.

On Wednesday morning, Hannoun tweeted: "Just saw John Kavanagh who was very surprised by the Woodley vs. Diaz rumours.

"Says Conor probably won't return until April or mid next year. Still have to go through negotiations with the #UFC to place deal for next fight."