Former champion McGregor hints at UFC return

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor has hinted on a UFC return with a tweet which has not revealed much but enough to create a flutter.

The Irishman in a cryptic tweet accepted a fight with UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev after responding to his call-out on social media.

“I’m getting bored, please @danawhite give me @NateDiaz209 @GamebredFighter @TheNotoriousMMA same night. I can smash all these guys... I’m just confident. I understand if they don’t want to fight me,” Chimaev said in a tweet.

Moments later, McGregor responded to the tweet writing: “I accept”. Chimaev hit back at McGregor: “Beg me”.

McGregor, last month, had said that he is retiring from fighting. In a Twitter post, McGregor had posted a photo with his mother Margaret that he said was from one of his “World title wins”.

He had earlier tweeted twice about retirement from fighting, both times when he was involved in arguments with the UFC. His last fight came in January against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone which he won and he has since expressed interest to face a number of opponents.

He was tied this summer to face current top lightweight contender Justin Gaethje. A trilogy fight with Nate Diaz was also something he expressed interest in repeatedly and he had also tweeted on May 28 that he had accepted a proposal for a fight against MMA legend Anderson Silva.

Lewis, Oleinik face off: UFC continues its run of August events at UFC APEX, headlined by a battle of heavyweight contenders, as No. 4 ranked Derrick Lewis squares off with No. 11 Aleksei Oleinik.

The co-main event will feature No. 11 ranked middleweight contender Omari Akhmedov, who aims to take out his first former UFC champion when he faces Chris Weidman.

The event will be closed to the public and will be produced with only essential personnel in attendance pursuant to a Health, Safety and Operations plan approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission. The main card begins on Aug. 8.

A former title challenger, Lewis (23-7 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) is among the most exciting KO artists in the heavyweight division. Throughout his UFC run, he has delivered impressive KO finishes against Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Travis Browne. Lewis also holds a decision victory over perennial top contender Francis Ngannou. Lewis now looks to earn his third consecutive win to re-assert himself as a dangerous title threat.

Considered among the most skilled heavyweight grapplers, Oleinik (59-13-1, fighting out of Moscow, Russia) continues to turn heads with his trademark Ezekiel choke submission.

A 24-year MMA veteran, he has delivered spectacular victories over Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt and Mirko Cro Cop. Oleinik now hopes to add another top heavyweight to his hit list and crack the UFC heavyweight top five for the first time in his career.

Unbeaten since returning to the middleweight division in 2017, Akhmedov (20-4-1, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) goes for his most important win yet. A gritty Sambo fighter, Akhmedov secured hard-fought wins over Ian Heinisch, Zak Cummings and Tim Boetsch. In the biggest spotlight of his career, Akhmedov has his sights set on taking out his first former UFC champion to continue his ascent up the 185-pound ladder.

A former UFC middleweight champion, Weidman (14-5, fighting out of Baldwin, NY) returns to the 185-pound division ready to climb back to the top of the mountain. A decorated grappler, Weidman dethroned all-time great Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt in 2013.