On Wednesday night UFC Tonight claimed that Irish MMA star Conor McGregor must wait for formal clearance regarding his knee injury before his rumoured bout with Cole Miller will be made official for the promotion’s Dublin return on July 19th.

Although there has been no contract signed, the report also indicated that Miller has been told to keep the Dublin date free for the potential match up and the Dubliner’s coach, John Kavanagh, is confident that there should be no problems when McGregor gets his final check-up.

“He’s doing fantastic,” said Kavanagh. “He’s exceeding expectations with his recovery. There is one more formal test he has to take for the UFC, but that shouldn’t be an issue.

“He had his first jiu jitsu training session this week and it went brilliantly. He’s moving very well and the knee seems to very stable.”

Another of Kavanagh’s charges, Gunnar Nelson, has been vocal about his intention to fight at the July event having banked a stunning first round submission win over Omari Akhmedov at UFC Fight Night 38 in early March.

With UFC president Dana White claiming that the welterweight deserves a top ten shot in his next contest, Kavanagh announced his desire to see Nelson face off against top Canadian prospect Rory MacDonald.

“I believe that Rory is the best in the 170lbs division. Okay, he narrowly missed out on a decision against Robbie Lawler in his last fight, but I think either him or Gunnar will be welterweight champion within the next 12 to 18 months so why wait?

“This isn’t me calling Rory out, I mean no disrespect but this is the fight game. This is a sporting contest between two highly trained athletes and it’s the fight I want to see the most as a fan.”

By Peter Carroll – @PetesyCarroll

This article first appeared in the Irish Daily Mirror today (4th April)