Conor McGregor, Dan Hooker say they want to fight each other in February

Conor McGregor and Dan Hooker both said over the weekend they would like to fight against each other early next year.

The UFC has not announced or confirmed any upcoming matchups for McGregor or Hooker, nor has the organization officially announced any events for their 2025 schedule, however, the idea of the popular strikers facing each other is something both fighters have discussed.

McGregor suggested to Donagh Corby of Bloody Elbow in passing backstage at a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event in Marbella, Spain on Saturday that he and Hooker have talked about meeting on Feb. 1 in Saudi Arabia.

Hooker, who was also at that BKFC event, then told Australia’s Submission Radio in an interview Sunday that he and McGregor spoke and briefly discussed competing against each other next year.

“We just spoke in the ring. I'm on board, he's on board. We just need to get the UFC on board and we'll get this thing across the line,” Hooker said.

McGregor, a part-owner of the BKFC promotion, has not fought since breaking his leg in July of 2021 during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. 

The former two-weight UFC champion had been scheduled to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in the summer, however, a toe injury resulted in McGregor withdrawing from the matchup and Chandler was eventually booked to face Charles Oliveira in November.

McGregor, 36, has lost three of his past four mixed martial arts fights dating all the way back to 2016. He has lost four of his past five pro fights including his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Hooker, 34, is currently the No. 5-ranked contender in the lightweight division, has won three fights in a row, and is coming off a split decision win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 in August.