Conor McGregor might not return to UFC stage 'til end of 2017, Dana White says

Fans of Conor McGregor might have to ease down a bit in the waiting as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White hints that the Irish man might not be stepping back in the octagon until late next year.

White, who is doing the marketing rounds for the upcoming interim Featherweight Championship between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis on Dec. 10 for UFC 206, has shared that McGregor might be out for a longer time than what has been initially presumed. Last month, during his most recent post-fight press conference following his win against Eddie Alvarez, he announced that he will be going on a short hiatus to wait for the birth of his first child with girlfriend Dee Devlin. At that point, the leave was tipped to only last until May, but White's recent comments suggest a McGregor-less UFC until at least September.

"That's who Conor is, that's how Conor is. Conor is the best. He's got no fights, he's taking 10 months off, he's having a baby and everybody's still talking about him," White said. "He's the best at it. Nobody's better," the promoted told "FOX Sports Live" while talking about McGregor's celebration tour.

With White taking on a friendlier tone with McGregor after a budding rift between arguably the most famous mixed martial artist today and the league he belongs to, it seems like at this point the UFC is game with whatever the Notorious wants to do. And understandably so, given the amount of interest and draw he brings to the sport and the tourney, not to mention the profit. Still, it is certainly possible that while McGregor might not be seen in the caged field for quite a while, fans can catch up with him in a boxing ring.

In the same conversation, White also shared snippets of how the highly rumored fight between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather is shaping up. The titillating possibility first picked up steam earlier this year with the Money continuously talking about it. Apparently, the boxer is quite serious in booking a date with the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter with the 47-year-old revealing that rapper 50 cent, who is buddies with Mayweather, tipped him about his friend's eagerness.

'He does, Dana. He's dead serious about it.' And I said, 'I don't know, man. Call Floyd and see what's going on.' So that's how the whole thing got started up again," White said, relaying the conversation.

McGregor is also starting some groundwork in case he finds himself facing a boxing champion as he just recently secured a boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission.