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Former UFC champion Conor McGregor announced he's delaying his MMA return and will instead face podcaster Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India.
McGregor, 36, denied rumors that he was planning to face UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria and has instead reached "preliminary agreements with the Ambani family" to face Paul.
"The rumors of a bout with topurio (sic) are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I have agreed. I will then seek my return to the Octagon," McGregor wrote on his X account.
McGregor, the first UFC fighter in history to hold two weight class titles simultaneously and one of the biggest stars in the promotion's history, was officially ruled out of his previously scheduled UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler due to "an injury" in June, UFC President Dana White announced at the time.
McGregor hasn't competed in a UFC fight since losing his second consecutive bout to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy of matches at UFC 264 in July 2021. The Irish fighter has a 22-6-0 career record as a professional fighter.
McGregor's announcement comes weeks after he was found liable for sexual assault last month. Nikita Hand was awarded nearly $257,000 by the High Court in Dublin for an incident that took place in the penthouse of a hotel on December 9, 2018.
Hand claimed she was heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following the incident. McGregor, who shares four children with fiancée Dee Devlin, denied the allegations, which he claimed the victim fabricated after they had consensual sex.