White and McGregor
White has hinted at stripping McGregor of his lightweight title Getty

UFC president Dana White has revealed that Conor McGregor intends on returning to action in September which could lead to him getting stripped of his lightweight title.

McGregor has not defended the 155-pound strap since defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 back in November 2016 as he currently stands at 14 months without a title defence.

Having entered the boxing world to face former five-weight champion Floyd Mayweather back in August of last year, the Irishman was expected to return to the octagon and unify the titles against interim champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 219 on 30 December.

However, there was no follow-up with White previously uncertain as to whether McGregor would even fight again following the payday he received from his loss to Mayweather.

The 29-year-old's inactivity has led to a lot of criticism with calls for him to be stripped of the title and White hinted that it could happen after learning of McGregor's comeback plans.

"Conor has said he's thinking about coming back in September," White told FOX following UFC St. Louis. "If he comes back in September, that's almost two years. That can't happen. It's not fair to everybody else.

"Love Conor, respect Conor, love everything that he's done for this company. Everybody knows that. I say it all the time. The belt would have to move on."

White added that he would "absolutely" strip McGregor of the title and instead, book a fight between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title.

The two lightweights have been scheduled to fight three times in the past, however, the bout never came to fruition on each occasion with the most recent case being at UFC 209 back in March 2017 when Nurmagomedov had to pull out due to a botched weight cut.

However, "The Eagle" changed his diet and had a very good weight cut for UFC 219 where he impressively beat down Edson Barboza to win via unanimous decision.

"You do Khabib versus Tony," White added. "We're working on that fight now and if and when Conor comes back, he would get the first crack at the title."

Read more
Conor McGregor UFC