Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov: How the Irishman 'fell out of love' with UFC

The Notorious hasn't entered the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez way back in 2016

Conor McGregor has admitted he "fell out of love with the game" as he prepares to make his long-awaited return to the UFC this weekend.

The Notorious hasn't entered the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez way back in 2016 but returns on Saturday night in Las Vegas when he takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title.

McGregor was infamously stripped of both his featherweight and lightweight titles, a key motivation for the Irishman ahead of this fight, and he admits it affected his focus.

"I fell out of love with the game for a bit, went off on to my own thing," McGregor told The Mac Life. "Had many things going on. Now I’m back. I’m hungry to compete. And we’re here right on the cusp of it. Making weight, handling the media obligations. And that’s it."

McGregor lost the featherweight strap, won with the second round stoppage of Alvarez, just weeks later before going on to lose the lightweight belt in April of this year.

"I spent my entire life’s work to win those two world titles," he added. "Those two UFC world titles. I set out a goal, I put everything, absolutely everything, sacrificed so much times, sacrificed so much to gain those world titles.

"And then as soon as I win the second world title, I wasn’t even offered a featherweight contest and the featherweight title was taken off of me and handed back to a man that I had a crazy history with.

"I travelled the world with a two year build up. He ended up pulling out last minute. Blah blah blah blah blah, when I end the fight, I knock him out in in 13 seconds and then they give the belt back as soon as I walk out the Octagon in Madison Square Garden. And then like, what, about a month, a month or two, the lightweight belt is stripped from me also.

McGregor has been no stranger to the headlines in his absence from UFC (AFP/Getty Images)

"So these kind of things irritate me. Especially seeing what way it goes, who the belts are given to, who the people are that are challenging the belts. Who the person who has the belt is facing to get the belt.

"Many things irritate me in the game, and just watching it unfold, I just became more hungry to come back and show who the real king is."