Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has confirmed he will fight Conor McGregor in the Middle East next year.
McGregor took to Twitter on Friday evening and shared a number of conversations he'd had with UFC president Dana White earlier this year.
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'The Notorious' then ended his tirade by telling fans he'll be stepping back into the squared circle to face Pacquiao.
Now, 'Pac-Man' has responded and given the green light for a huge inter-promotional clash next year.
Pacquiao's office said per talkSPORT: "For the sake of all the Filipino Covid-19 victims, Senator Manny Pacquiao will be fighting UFC superstar Conor McGregor next year.
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"The huge portion of his earnings will proceed to those who are affected nationwide by the pandemic."
McGregor's last foray in the boxing world came in 2017 when he faced Floyd Mayweather in a fight billed 'The Biggest Fight in Combat Sports History.'
The 32-year-old retired from UFC earlier this year but his private messages to White showed he was desperate to compete this year.
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McGregor was eager to be back in the octagon after making quick work of Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 246 and asked White if there was an date for an event in Los Angeles.
When White told him there was no such event, he then proposed the idea of taking on Diego Sanchez in Dublin - which the 51-year old was not in favour of whatsoever.
They then discussed the possibility of taking on Justin Gaethje, with McGregor wanting a May bout but White explaining they could only do July at the earliest.
I was pushing hard for the season. Multiple opponents, multiple dates offered throughout. All to take place back to back. Then when covid hit and the talk was that I would have to wait for crowds again, I walked away from the situation. I was waiting long enough at that stage.
McGregor would then reveal the final part of the exchange to show how he was never interested in stepping in as a replacement for the cursed Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson bout that was nixed for a fifth time due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The Irishman wanted to fight on his terms, telling White, "the people want a McGregor event, let's give it to them!"
In June, McGregor claimed he was "bored" of the current situation in UFC as "nothing excites" him.
Here’s the finish of that exchange. Pre covid. Pre retirement. Never turned down offer of Tony as was suggested at the time. I stated months in advance (early February) that I was not interested in being an alternate for two consistent pullouts. Pushed for my own scheduled bouts
He took to Twitter to make the bombshell retirement announcement before explaining his reasons in an interview with ESPN.
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"The game just does not excite me, and that's that," he said.
"All this waiting around. There's nothing happening. I'm going through opponent options, and there's nothing really there at the minute. There's nothing that's exciting me."
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