CONOR McGREGOR has laid out a date for his anticipated UFC return and already has his next three fights in mind.

The Irishman has been out of action since July 2021 after he broke his leg in the first round against Dustin Poirier.

McGregor has teased a comeback all year and even coached on The Ultimate Fighter with Michael Chandler.

And now, the former two-weight champion claimed he will fight Chandler, 37, before the year is over.

McGregor, 34, told talkSPORT: “Chandler next, December. And then Gaethje BMF. And then we’ll do Nate [Diaz] trilogy.”

Following McGregor's absence from the octagon, he is currently out of the UFC's all year round United States Anti-Doping Agency testing.

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To return, he must complete six months of USADA tests unless he is given a special exemption.

So it remains unclear on whether McGregor will be free to fight without returning the mandatory testing.

McGregor also threatened to walk away from his proposed fight with Chandler to face Gaethje, 34, who knocked out Poirier, 34, for the BMF belt.

And before Diaz, 38, lost his boxing debut to YouTube star Jake Paul, 26, McGregor insisted their trilogy bout WILL take place in the near future.

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UFC president Dana White was also forced to speak out and confirm Chandler will be next for McGregor.

He said at a press conference: "I talked to Conor. It was either yesterday or the day before. And yeah, he's ready to fight.

"I just said, listen, get in shape, and let's figure this out. Yeah, he's fighting Chandler. Conor likes to f*** with everybody.

"You know what I mean? Especially his opponent or possible opponents."

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