Conor McGregor promises "countdown is on" as UFC star continues recovery

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Conor McGregor continues to gear up for his UFC return as he reveals the "countdown" to his next fight has begun.

McGregor has been sidelined since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier last July and recently returned to sparring ahead of his comeback. The former two-weight champion was strictly limited to weight training during his recovery and bulked up to 190lb in the process.

He sparred with close friend and longtime training partner Cian Cowley in his first full training session earlier this month. Cowley admitted that it was like McGregor had " never left training " and that the spar between them went well.

Posting a picture of himself working the heavy bag, McGregor wrote: "Right hook tastiness, catch you soon the count down is on". McGregor originally targeted July as a return date, but UFC boss Dana White thinks that will be pushed back until late in the fall.

In the hopes of becoming the first-ever three-weight UFC champion, McGregor called out welterweight king Kamaru Usman for his return fight. Usman laughed off his call out and vowed to " murder " McGregor if they fought.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan is against the idea of McGregor fighting Usman after a long lay-off. He thinks the Irishman should take a warm-up fight before challenging a fighter of Usman level, as he said on the Hotboxin ' podcast. If Conor wants the