Conor McGregor pulled a baby goat into frame on 12 October and told his new TikTok audience he had “a mega announcement.”

It was not the comeback booking fans have waited for since his welterweight bout at UFC 329 on 11 July. It was the opening of a social media account.

“Goats recognize goats. Drop us a follow, a like, a comment, and let us know what you guys think,” McGregor said in his first video.

The former two-weight champion racked up a six-figure follower count within hours. The octagon, though, is still months away.

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A sparring image on Instagram the day before the TikTok debut prompted a status update from the Irishman that he is “ahead of the curve” in his rehabilitation, with swelling down and the crutch set aside for two to three weeks. His stated recovery window is nine to twelve months from the surgery he underwent in early August.

69 seconds, then ACL surgery

The return against Max Holloway lasted barely a minute. Throwing a kick in the opening exchange, McGregor tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee, mirroring the injury he picked up in his first bout with Holloway in 2013, that time on the opposite leg.

“ACL. His knee is f—ed up,” UFC CEO Dana White said in the aftermath, adding that any talk of a next fight would wait on medical clearance.

McGregor’s own recovery pitch leaned on history and modern medicine.

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“With today’s regenerative medicine advancements and improved training methods it is well within my realm to return by next summer,” he said.

He returned nine months after the 2013 injury, and he has told followers he intends to hit a similar mark this time.

The Holloway trilogy pitch

McGregor and Holloway are 1-1, and the Irishman has made no secret of what he wants from the final bout on his current UFC contract.

“What was to be a generational beating is now to be reset. IFW 2027. The Last Dance,” McGregor wrote on Instagram on 27 July, naming International Fight Week in Las Vegas as his preferred stage.

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Holloway has publicly said he is willing to wait. Justin Gaethje has pitched himself as an alternative, saying he will be ringside for the comeback.

The UFC has not confirmed a date, an opponent or a venue. McGregor says one fight remains on his deal. The earliest edge of his recovery window opens in May 2027.

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