At 6:46am on Monday morning, Conor McGregor claimed that he is back on the UFC 200 card.
In a tweet, he thanked both UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenza Fertitta for giving the fans what they wanted.
The thing is - nothing official has been announced by the UFC.
McGregor's statement should be treated with a healthy amount of suspicion.
Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200!
Shout out to @danawhite and @lorenzofertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 25, 2016
There is a strong possibility that he is attempting to leverage the promotion into putting him back onto the card.
Plenty of information already exists which goes a long way towards discrediting the Dubliner's declaration.
Read: Is This The Real Explanation Into What's Gone On Between Conor McGregor And UFC?
On Sunday, Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto that should Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier both be declared fit, they will headline UFC 200 on July 9th. Over the weekend, at UFC 197, Jones made his return to the Octagon, defeating Ovince Saint Preux to claim the interim light heavyweight belt.
In terms of marketability, a fight featuring Jones is as close as it gets for the UFC to one starring McGregor.
Dana White tells me if Jon Jones is healthy and Daniel Cormier is cleared on an MRI on Monday, they will headline 200.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 24, 2016
Also, in his column for The42.ie - published on Monday morning - Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh divulged that he had received a message from Dana White over the weekend.
The content certainly does not make it appear that a u-turn from the UFC is imminent.
Like everyone, I’ve just read the rumours of a so-called rift between Dana and Conor, but I personally don’t know of that to be true. I got a message from Dana over the weekend telling us to enjoy some time off and we’ll see you at the end of the summer.
In that column, Kavanagh does say that in terms of training schedule, McGregor is still aiming for UFC 200 but only with the possibility of him being a late replacement in mind. According to Kavanagh, an appearance at UFC 201 or 202 in August or September is more likely.
And, of course, it would not be the first time that McGregor has teased a fight which turned out to be a figment of his imagination. In October 2014, he claimed that a fight against Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 in Mexico City had been made.
That turned out to be complete fiction.
I am fighting @DiegoSanchezUFC in Mexico, November 15th. He spoke a big game. Now he will pay with his career. VIVA LA EIRE!!!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 2, 2014
Until the UFC makes an official announcement, we'd hold off on booking that flight to Las Vegas.
Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
