UFC legend Conor McGregor once vowed to fight two times in 2023, but after appearing that it was never going to happen for the Irish fighter, McGregor finally seemed to confirm he’d be fighting at UFC 296. However, should we really believe this new update at this point? According to Darren Till, the Notorious One may not fight at all, as in… EVER again.
Conor McGregor lands a right hand on Michael Poirier | MMA Slow Motion
McGregor as of right now is supposed to be fighting his fellow The Ultimate Fighter captain Michael Chandler, but he’s technically ineligible due to his absence from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool. The former two-division champion, hasn’t thrown down in the cage in over two years now – since July 2021.
“Conor’s never coming back, in my opinion,” Till told SportsLens. “Conor’s struggling to let go. He doesn’t want to let it go. But it’s time to let go. He’s older, he doesn’t train like he used to. He’s got the money and his beautiful kids, and the only problem is that he just does not want to let it go. There’s going to come a day where he realizes he’s fighting with himself and has to let go.
“Every recording on Twitter he’s just drunk as f*** and I’m just crying my eyes out laughing at him. It will take him a while, but he’ll find his peace. My opinion of Conor is you have to respect what he’s done, but it’s time to let go. He’s struggling to let go.”
“Maybe he’s not,” Till said. “Maybe he’s going to come back and prove us all wrong. He might just not be ready in terms of testing or he just wants to keep his name out there and he’s thinking in terms of next year. It’s tough to know. He’s a smarter businessman than most, so you have to trust what he’s doing.”
While Conor McGregor’s commitment to return to the octagon was initially strong, recent voice notes posted on Twitter indicate that he’s pretty apathetic about his situation. So, perhaps Till is right in his intuition, based on the way the Irishman addressed the matter.
“They’re not going to let me fight in December, ladies and gentlemen,” McGregor stated at the time.
Source: Conor McGregor on X
Then came the newest update in the long saga of Conor’s “will he or won’t he” fight against Chandler posted on X Sunday morning.
“UFC 296: CHANDLER vs MCGREGOR” said the lone image of a countdown timer set for December 16th.
Do you trust that this is official? Does it even mean McGregor finally went and somehow got clearance from USADA to fight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and across social media.