Conor McGregor has confirmed that he will return to sparring within the next few months, with a return fight imminent.
The UFC legend has been out of action after suffering a brutal leg break at the hands of Dustin Poirier last summer, but was walking around unassisted at Friday night's Bellator 275 event.
McGregor was at Dublin's 3Arena from the first bell of the prelims to support teammates and friends Lee Hammond and Sinead Kavanagh, and insists that he wants to be back in the cage as soon as possible.
The Irishman told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat at the Bellator event that he is planning to be back sparring within the coming weeks, and will plot his comeback from there.
"Soon, it's getting there," McGregor replied when asked when he would be returning to the cage.
He also confirmed that he would like to face one of the world champions at lightweight or welterweight; currently Charles Oliveira or Kamaru Usman.
"April I should be back sparring," he continued. "I'll gauge it all then - I'd like a title, a title, I'd feel a belt.
"We'll see what happens with the weight, I'm feeling nice and strong, I'm getting there day-by-day.
"I'm only 33 years of age, I'm unscathed, never been bust up in the face, never scratched in the face so I'll be back.
"I'm advised to take it easy, but I'm shadow boxing a lot and I'm figuring out what way I'm developing a style."
He also refused to be drawn on who he feels will win the as-yet unannounced fight between Oliveira and Justin Gaethje for the lightweight belt.
The pair are believed to be fighting on May 7 at UFC 274, but nothing has been confirmed and McGregor believes there is still a chance he could sneak into title contention.
"That's not booked yet is it" McGregor replied when asked for a prediction. "Until it's announced we'll see what happens."
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McGregor has on multiple occasions seemed to indicate that he would be getting a shot at the title upon his return, despite losing his two fights with Dustin Poirier last year.
He was viciously knocked out in the second round of their UFC 257 meeting in January before their trilogy the following July at UFC 264 was cut short by his leg injury.
This has enraged other contenders in the division, including heated rivals such as Gaethje or Islam Makhachev, who extended his winning streak to 10-fights last night.
Makhachev defeated fan-favourite veteran Bobby Green, who stepped in as a late notice replacement for No.3-ranked Beneil Dariush.
And the Russian joked that he would find McGregor an easier opponent than Green, whom he stopped within minutes of their main event meeting.
"Honestly, I don't remember when this guy beat someone," Makhachev told reporters after his win over Green. "He has to come back and beat someone and then let's go, why not?
"I'm going to smash him like easy, Bobby Green is going to be harder for me than for him."
