Conor McGregor has announced plans for a boxing exhibition match against Logan Paul in India before making his UFC return. The former two-division champion confirmed this through social media posts, dismissing rumors about a potential fight with UFC Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.

The exhibition match will reportedly be backed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and Asia's richest person.

This announcement follows the recent trend of high-profile exhibition matches, such as the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Netflix, which generated $17 million in ticket sales and attracted 108 million live viewers. Paul reportedly earned $40 million, while Tyson's earnings were estimated at $20 million.

Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White has hinted at major upcoming events for 2025, including a surprise development that "came together" during Saturday's UFC Fight Night.

The immediate UFC calendar features UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on January 18, headlined by:

• Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan
• Merab Dvalishvili facing Umar Nurmagomedov for the bantamweight title

A potential heavyweight unification bout between champion Jon Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall is also being discussed, with White calling it "probably the biggest fight in heavyweight history." While Jones has expressed interest in fighting Alex Pereira, he may consider the Aspinall fight if the terms are favorable.

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