Conor McGregor vs Khabib: Dana White tips lightweight title fight to be ‘biggest in UFC history’

McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon on October 6 when he challenges Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title he formerly held

UFC president Dana White has said that Conor McGregor’s impending fight with undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has the potential to be the “biggest in the history of the company”.

McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon on October 6 when he challenges Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title he formerly held.

The fight will also be McGregor's first since the former two-time division champion pleaded guilty in New York last month to a misdemeanour disorderly conduct charge, for throwing a hand truck at a bus full of fighters in Brooklyn in April.

The Nurmagomedov fight, part of UFC 229, is tipped to be the biggest in the championship's short history and could become the first MMA match to hit two million in pay-per-view sales.

And White is confident the showdown will prove to be the biggest MMA fight in the 24 year history of the UFC.

“It's a massive fight. I knew this was the fight to make,” White said after the fight was announced late on Friday night. “And I believe that this the biggest fight in the history of the company, other than the (Floyd) Mayweather fight.

“This thing is going to be massive. You have two of these guys, who are actually both straight killers, coming out of the gate and going straight after each other head-to-head. And in their prime – it’s incredible.”

McGregor, 30, has not fought in the octagon since he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in November to win the lightweight title and become the first fighter to hold two UFC belts at the same time.

Since then, his only prize fight has been a lucrative boxing bout against Floyd Mayweather which he lost.

McGregor was eventually stripped of both his UFC belts, and in his absence the lightweight division has become one of the most exciting in the UFC.

The pair will fight on October 6 (Getty / Independent)

The unbeaten Nurmagomedov is currently at the top of the pile, having secured the belt in a unanimous decision win over Al Iaquinta in Brooklyn in April.

And ever since, fans have wanted to see how his smothering style would fare against McGregor's punching and quick movement.