By the looks of it, Conor McGregor could be fighting in his home country of Ireland sooner rather than later.
The outspoken Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim featherweight titleholder fights adversary Jose Aldo in a unification match in the UFC 194 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on Dec. 12, 2015 (full card here). If he is to topple "Junior" inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, only then would promotion president Dana White move the Irishman's first title defense to Croke Park in Dublin.
"If he beats Jose Aldo in Las Vegas in December, the next fight will be in Croke Park," White told the NRL Footy Show in Australia (via MMAjunkie). "We told him he could defend his title at Croke Park."
White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have tried in the past to bring a mixed martial arts (MMA) event to the 80,000-seat outdoor stadium, but legalities and weather conditions have proved to be daunting obstacles.
Not to mention PPV numbers.
"You lose about 25 to 30 percent on pay-per-view being in another country," said White.
White and Co. were also planning on bringing UFC 194 to "The Big Apple" in Madison Square Garden, as well as AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but those plans were scrapped because of this.
McGregor, who is arguably UFC's biggest star next to women's bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey, is responsible for the promotion's second-most successful show in 2015 based upon PPV numbers.
"Rowdy" took first place in that category.
The undeniable hype conjured for "Notorious'' and his 145-pound title encounter with Aldo at UFC 189 back in July -- which never came to fruition because of a rib injury to the Brazilian superstar -- has grown exponentially.
Add in the fact that the show's buyrate didn't take much of a hit when the pound-for-pound great went down -- and three-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes stepped in -- and the numbers are something to marvel at.
While McGregor may not be the first UFC fighter to set an attendance record -- Rousey has the first crack at it when she headlines UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia with Holly Holm -- he seems very much destined for it.
For much more on the UFC 194: "Aldo vs. McGregor" fight card click here.