UFC boss Dana White believes Conor McGregor should wait to fight the winner of Justin Gaethje v Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year.

The Irishman has not fought since he destroyed Donald ’Cowboy’ Cerrone in just 40 seconds at UFC 246 in January.

And while he has insisted he wants to be as active as possible in 2020, White feels the ’smartest’ move would be for him to wait on the outcome of Gaethje-Khabib which is likely to be the next major clash in the lightweight division.

Speaking on promoter Eddie Hearn and ex-fighter Tony Bellew’s YouTube show ’Talk the Talk’, he said: "I think the best thing for him, I'm not saying this is what's going to happen, but in my opinion, he lets this Gaethje-Khabib fight play out and he fights the winner.

“I think that's the smartest move for him. But, you know him, maybe he wants to fight before that and if he does, we can figure something out. I think that is the move for him right now."

Gaethje surprised many fight fans by stopping Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in a breathtaking display and setting up a huge dust-up with the undefeated lightweight king Khabib.

Meanwhile, McGregor has made it clear he would like a rematch with the Russian star after he was forced to tap out against him in a fiery encounter back in October 2018.

Other options ’The Notorious One’ has been looking at are a welterweight clash with Jorge Masvidal or a trilogy fight against Nate Diaz.

Diaz shocked McGregor by making him submit in March 2016, before the Dublin fighter got his revenge five months later.

The UFC returned from the coronavirus pandemic in early May, becoming the first major sporting organisation to stage events since the outbreak.