McGregor says will return to fighting next year

Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor on Thursday announced he would return to fighting in January, despite announcing his retirement in March.

“I would like to announce to the public the return of the Notorious Conor McGregor will take place on January 18th in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada,” he said at an event in Moscow to promote his whiskey brand.

“I am in prime physical condition, I’ve agreed the date with the company,” he said, without specifying the name of his opponent.

The 31-year-old Irishman, an icon of the UFC, is no stranger to controversy and hit the headlines this summer for an attack on an older man in a Dublin bar that was captured in a viral video.

McGregor has not fought since being battered into submission by arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, from the Russian republic of Dagestan, in October last year.