Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon likely isn't that far away ... according to UFC President Dana White, who tells TMZ Sports he expects the Irish superstar to fight this summer.
We recently asked White ... do you believe Conor will fight this year after healing up from the devastating injury.
"I think so, yeah," Dana told us. "He's doing all the right things with his leg. I'm hoping he can come back this summer."
Of course, 33-year-old McGregor hasn't stepped foot competitively in the cage since snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
Injury aside, The Notorious -- a former UFC double champion -- has lost 3 of his last 4 fights ... including the last 2 to The Diamond.
Conor is currently ranked 9th in the UFC's Lightweight division ... behind fighters like champ Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson, to name a few.
We also talked to the UFC honcho about the barn-burner of a scrap between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze ... a fight the #5 ranked striker from Boston won by unanimous decision.
THAT's HOW YOU MAKE A STATEMENT 💥
— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2022
[ @CalvinKattar | #UFCVegas46 ] pic.twitter.com/yJciqlt9Dy
So, what's next for Kattar? Dana doesn't know just yet, but makes it clear Calvin is in a prime position.
"Massive massive win for him. Coming off that Holloway fight which was unbelievable and now he wins this fight against Giga. He's in a good spot. He's in a real good spot, so we'll see here."