Makwan Amirkhani says teammate Conor McGregor is ‘building himself up’ for return

Conor McGregor has not fought since he was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov in late 2018. McGregor’s teammate Makwan Amirkhani believes that could soon change.

Speaking to MMA Junkie after last weekend’s Bellator 227 card in Dublin, Amirkhani gave his take on McGregor’s prolonged absence. He believes McGregor’s appetite for competition will eventually drive him back to the cage.

“I think in the end, Conor knows that it’s not the money that makes us athletes happy”, he said (h/t APMMA.net). “It’s that we can go there and perform, and I think he’s hungry for that. He knows that’s the thing that makes his life happier, and that’s the thing that he loves. So I believe truly that he will get back.”

In the meantime, Amirkhani believes McGregor is doing what he needs to do to build himself back up after a fairly chaotic year.

“We’ve seen a lot (that) his mind is on a whole other level,” he said of McGregor. “There have been a few steps backwards, but we all make mistakes and we all learn from them. And I think when he gets back (to fighting) he will be another person.

“He’s been in the gym and he’s been working by himself a lot and I think he’s building himself up. I believe in the beginning of next year, that’s the time that Conor will step up – January or February.”

Makwan Amirkhani is gearing up or a UFC 244 fight with Shane Burgos. In this fight, he’ll look to improve his current win-streak to three-straight.

While Conor McGregor doesn’t have a fight booked, he’s recently been linked to a potential showdown with Justin Gaethje. He’s also been called out by recent lightweight title challenger Dustin Poirier.

What do you think of these comments from Makwan Amirkhani? Is Conor McGregor gearing up for a comeback?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/2/2019.