If this is the case, McGregor will not have fought in the Octagon for three years after breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. 

McGregor has been linked with a comeback fight against Michael Chandler after the pair were rival head coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter with the pair were originally set to meet before the end of 2023, but this failed to materialise due to a number of issues away from the cage. 

Now it looks like the first few months of 2024 will be the likely time for McGregor to make a UFC comeback and this is something Kavanagh echoes. 

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year he’ll definitely have his comeback," Kavanagh told talkSPORT. 

Many fans are expecting McGregor to feature on the historic UFC 300 card which is yet to be announced, but while this would be the perfect setting for one of MMA's biggest stars to end a long absence from the sport, Kavanagh has claimed that the Irishman will step into the Octagon at the earliest opportunity. 

“Conor just wants to fight," Kavanagh stated. 

“If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it. If it’s UFC 300, great!

“We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”