Conor McGregor is just two spots away from exiting the UFC rankings after the latest update moved him to No.14.
Former two-weight UFC champion McGregor, 34, has dropped one spot in the lightweight rankings thanks to Renato Moicano's submission win against Brad Riddell at UFC 281. Moicano delivered a post-fight rant after his win about his absence from the lightweight rankings having previously held the No.4 spot at 145lb and the UFC has granted his wish, ranking him at No.13 at 155lb.
McGregor is without a lightweight win in over six years, last picking up a win at the weight class in November 2016 when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to win the division's undisputed title. The Irishman came up short in his efforts to win back his lightweight title against bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 and was stopped twice by Dustin Poirier last year in his most recent fights at 155lb.
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Having not fought in almost 18 months, McGregor is expected to make his return next year and he teased a comeback by writing "the Mac is back" on Instagram last week. UFC president Dana White told Mirror Fighting of McGregor's return: "He's been posting videos of himself training and he's just done filming a movie He definitely wants to come back next year."
UFC fighters are required to enrol in the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool for a minimum of six months before they are eligible to compete and McGregor is no different. The Irishman has not been tested for the entirety of 2022, which means that May of next year is the earliest date he could return to the cage.
Having bulked up to 190lb during his lengthy layoff, McGregor is targeting a return at 170lb despite having only competed at the weight class three times. His last win in the UFC came at 170lb as he knocked out Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds almost three years ago. Both of the Dubliner's fights against Nate Diaz, the first of which he lost before winning the rematch, also came at 170lb.
McGregor confirmed his plans to fight Kamaru Usman in his comeback fight, but that was until the former pound-for-pound No.1 lost his title when he was knocked out by Leon Edwards in August. It's unlikely McGregor will fight for a title in his return as Edwards is expected to face Usman in his first title defence.
