UFC President Dana White said this week that Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon next year.

During an appearance on SNY Sports Shorts (h/t Championship Rounds), White said McGregor's return fight will take place in "early 2025."

McGregor, 36, has not competed in MMA in over three years, as his most recent fight was a first-round technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, which saw the Irishman suffer a broken leg.

After McGregor was chosen to be one of the coaches for the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter last year, it led to speculation that he was finally poised to return to action.

Michael Chandler was the opposing coach, and after months of talk, a fight was finally booked between then for UFC 303 on June 29, 2024.

UFC canceled the scheduled press conference prior to the fight, though, and just two weeks before the bout was set to occur, it was called off due to McGregor suffering a broken toe during training.

White said on SNY that he always felt it was more likely McGregor would fight in 2025 rather than 2024, even after the clash with Chandler was announced.

While it is assumed that there are still plans in place for McGregor to fight Chandler, White stopped short of naming Chandler as McGregor's opponent for his return fight.

For his part, Chandler has expressed a desire to still face McGregor, but he has also made it clear that he isn't putting all of his proverbial eggs in that basket.

Last month, during an appearance on Beat the Heat (h/t Tom Taylor of Sporting News), Chandler said he wanted to put McGregor in the past by beating him:

"I'm never going to play the victim. I've got wife and two kids, I've got businesses, I've got all this stuff. It's more just, with all do respect, I'm ready to put you behind me. I'm ready to put you flat on your back, in the middle of an Octagon, wherever it is—hopefully Las Vegas—and I can walk out of that Octagon and never have to think about you again."

Prior to that, Chandler appeared on Lucky Block (h/t MMA Junkie's Simon Samano) and suggested that a fight with McGregor is not his be all, end all, saying:

"I am running my own race, and I'm continuing to move forward. I am at the point now where we are looking at all of the options and not just fighting Conor. Things move fast, and the phone could ring at any time. I don't want to make it sound like I'm not focused on fighting Conor, but right now when no contract is signed, I'm excited to fight. I'm training every day, and I'm in the best shape that I have been in a very long time, and I'm ready to go out there whether it's Conor or someone else. There's always going to be life after Conor if this fight never comes to fruition. …

"I've always felt that if the Conor fight didn't happen, I'm going to be just fine, and I will put butts in seats, and I will sell pay-per-views, and I will entertain the entire world when I step inside the Octagon."

McGregor is one of the biggest stars in UFC history, and he is also among the promotion's most decorated fighters, having held the featherweight and lightweight titles.

However, McGregor lost three of his past four fights, dropping his career record down to 22-6, and it is unclear how he will fare after such a long layoff.

Chandler is also coming up on two years since his last fight in November 2022 due to the fact that he has been waiting for the McGregor fight to materialize. Like McGregor, he too has dropped three of his past four outings.

Regardless of who McGregor fights, his return is going to be a huge deal for UFC, and based on his name and past success alone, he should be able to help UFC do big numbers on pay-per-view.