Conor McGregor has demanded a meeting with TKO CEO Ari Emanuel before he agrees to fight again.

The UFC legend has not fought since suffering a nasty leg injury in his defeat to Dustin Poirier back in 2021. McGregor was due to return to the octagon back in 2024 against Michael Chandler - following their stint as opposing coaches on 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality series - but was forced to pull out due to injury.

Last July, US President Donald Trump stunned fans after unveiling plans to stage a UFC event on the grounds of the White House. It was at that moment the former dual-weight UFC champion confirmed his interest in the event. There were fears that the Irishman would miss the event altogether after he was handed a ban after missing three drug tests in 2024, but he is free to return on March 20.

With the White House event just months away, McGregor has thrown a real spanner in the works. The 37-year-old has formed a formidable relationship with UFC head honcho Dana White over the years, but the Dublin scrapper wants to go above White's pay-grade and negotiate his comeback with Emanuel.

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Emanuel is the CEO and Executive Chairman of TKO Group Holdings - the company that owns the UFC and WWE following a historic merger back in 2023. In a quickly-deleted tweet, McGregor responded to a post about Emanuel's upcoming memoir 'Roll the Calls’. In a posted uploaded to X - formerly known as Twitter - he wrote: “That’s a must read! I won’t come back until me and Ari chat.”

Whether it was a rather tongue and cheek reply remains to be seen. The UFC White House card is expected to start shaping up in the coming weeks, with White due to begin assembling the event in the next few days. McGregor is seen as the face of the UFC despite his drastic downfall over the last few years. Following the promotion's $7.7billion deal with Paramount, the Irishman is deeply intrigued by the new era of the organisation.

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The 'Notorious' has lost three of his last four fights - with his last win inside the octagon coming back in 2020 when he knocked out Donald Cerrone in less than a minute. While question marks still remain about a return, the 37-year-old recently took to social media to confirm that he's in camp for his comeback.

McGregor posted training footage alongside long-time coach John Kavanagh in their SBG gym in Ireland. "Camp 100%, this is. We are going in 100 per cent. I am going into this fight 100 per cent Conor McGregor," he said. "Not 92 per cent. 100 per cent Conor McGregor. So it has to be really meticulous. We were right there, with the last one. As a unit, we do it." He added: "I'm throwing rockets, these are missiles."

Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight crown against Diego Lopes on Saturday 31 January at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena in Australia. The early prelims kick off at approximately 10pm GMT (5pm ET / 2pm PT / 4pm CT), with the main prelims following at midnight GMT on Sunday (7pm ET / 4pm PT / 6pm CT on Saturday).

The main card is set to commence at 2am GMT on Sunday (9pm ET / 6pm PT / 8pm CT on Saturday). In the headline event, Lopes is expected to make his entrance to the cage first at approximately 4am GMT on Sunday (11pm ET / 8pm PT / 10pm CT on Saturday), with Volkanovski following shortly after.

The timings of all fights are subject to change and will depend on the duration of the undercard. UK fans can catch the main card on TNT Sports. The early and regular prelims will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass. For viewers in the US, Paramount+ will broadcast the main card and regular prelims.