Conor McGregor announced his return to the Octagon in an apparent apology for his 'Islamophobic' tweet

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov get set to trade blows at UFC 229, last year.

• Conor McGregor has announced to his Twitter followers that he will be returning to the Octagon, 10 days after announcing he was retiring from the sport forever.
• McGregor made the statement in a tweet that also appeared to be an apology of sorts for his comments towards bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov which have been called "Islamophobic."
• Both athletes have been involved in an ugly war of words that involved the Irishman calling Nurmagomedov's wife "a towel" and the Russian calling McGregor a "rapist."
• The UFC boss Dana White urged them to end their social media feud, and said the company will be taking action.
• McGregor has deleted his offensive tweets and said "all faiths challenge us to be our best selves," before telling his fans they will see him back in the sport.

Conor McGregor announced his return to the Octagon during an apparent apology tweet to his bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor resigned from mixed martial arts in a shock statement made 10 days ago, even though the UFC boss Dana White was expecting the Irishman to fight twice in 2019.

Few believed McGregor would stay retired, especially after suffering back-to-back defeats against Floyd Mayweather in 2017 and Nurmagomedov last year. Even minority UFC owner Sylvester Stallone said McGregor had been "publically humiliated."

But McGregor has been an active presence on social media this week as he challenged another minority UFC owner, actor Mark Wahlberg, to a fight for all of his shares in the business, before turning his attention to Nurmagomedov.

It all began when McGregor called Khabib Nurmagomedov's wife a "towel," which was considered to be an Islamophic insult, in a now-deleted photo tweet.

Nurmagomedov replied by calling the 30-year-old a "rapist," a reference to the sexual assault allegation recently reported by the New York Times.

Read more: Dana White slams Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov's 'unacceptable' social media feud, says UFC is taking action

White has since called for calm and said the UFC will be taking action, something McGregor seemingly ignored when he tweeted, then deleted, another post about Nurmagomedov's wife.

See the deleted post below:

Twitter / Conor McGregor

But shortly after deleting that tweet, McGregor posted an apology of sorts about his statements, where he implied he would be returning to UFC.

"I want to move forward with my fans of all faiths and all backgrounds," McGregor said. "All faiths challenge us to be our best selves. It is one world and one for all. Now see you in the Octagon."

McGregor is free to fight from April 6, having served his Nevada State Athletic Commission suspension for the role he played in the post-event brawls that marred his UFC 229 loss to Nurmagomedov.

McGregor has been linked with a number of opponents for his comeback bout, including Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, a Nurmagomedov rematch, and a trilogy against old rival Nate Diaz.