Getty Image / Cooper Neill
Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter is officially underway and it’s the first time we’ve seen Conor McGregor in action since suffering an injury in his last fight.
He’s coaching against Michael Chandler and it’s been reported that the two will face off against each other at the conclusion of the season.
However, it’s not clear exactly when that fight is going to happen. McGregor must still pass six months of testing clean with USADA. But it’s already June and there are no signs of him actually making an effort.
It’s putting his chances to return in 2023 in serious doubts. Now, UFC President Dana White has fans questioning if Conor McGregor ever returns with his latest comments.
According to MMA Fighting, White isn’t bothered by McGregor’s lack of effort in terms of re-entering the USADA pool. The UFC President makes other claims that has fans seriously questioning if Conor McGregor actually returns.
Here’s what White had to say about McGregor possibly not fighting in 2023.
“You can’t think like that. That’s the business we’re in. Anything is possible in this business. Anything is possible, you don’t know. You guys don’t know this much [makes small motion with his fingers] of what goes on behind the scenes and how hard it is to put all these fights together.”
From there, White mentions how he thinks The Ultimate Fighter is getting McGregor back in the mood to fight once again. However, the UFC President immediately negates that with his comments about the amount of money some fighters make.
“First of all, Conor called me a couple days ago and loved the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and saying how happy he was to be a part of it. And I think being here and part of the environment and everything else, he felt it again and felt like he wants to get back and fight. The one thing you guys have to understand is this kid has so much money. It’s like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] now. These guys got s***-loads of money and it’s hard to reel these guys back in and get them fired up to get in and fight.”
But White’s final comment may have sealed the deal for why fight fans doubt McGregor returns. From the sounds of it, Dana White wouldn’t be bothered if Conor McGregor never returned at all.
“I never get concerned. We have a massive roster of people that want to come in and people that are ready to fight and people that want to be Conor McGregor, and be at that level. For the last 20 years everybody said, ‘Oh my God, what are you guys going to do when Chuck Liddell retires? You guys are f*****. Oh my God. GSP. Anderson Silva.’ This and that. This is a professional sport. People come in here, they achieve great things, and they retire. You can never worry about that type of stuff. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. It’s my job and my team’s job to find new talent and build them and take them to that level.”
Yeah. So, who really knows what’s going on with Conor McGregor?
He seems adamant that he’ll fight Michael Chandler, but based on everything going on, that’s not really guaranteed.
It’s getting to the point where UFC fans are beginning this bout may never come to fruition.
Conor won’t be fighting
— Zach Brotsky (@zachbrotsky) June 6, 2023
Plenty of fight fans believe this is the message between the lines.
Bro lowkey just said that the fight ain't happenin.
— Jere 5uksi 🦝 (@KiitosLonkero) June 6, 2023
Was it all a ploy to gain views for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter?
So they did tuf without signing a fight agreement? Clearly the fight was never happening. They just wanted the tuf bag.
— Fats (@fatone9000) June 6, 2023
Conor McGregor Vs. Michael Chandler is a bout fight fans hope to see.
But for now, it’s just not clear whether it will actually happen or not.