It will soon be four years since former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor stepped foot inside the octagon. Many question whether the Irishman will ever fight again including former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen.
When asked if he thought McGregor would ever fight again during an appearance on the Ariel Helwani Show, Sonnen quickly answered, “No.”
Sonnen joins several fighters who do not think McGregor will fight in the UFC again. Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping has said the same thing as well as the original BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal, among others.
“He pulled out of his last fight which was a record gate. He beat all of his own gate records. They had $25 million waiting for them for the live gate and still had $2 million worth of tickets to sell,” Sonnen said. “He pulled out of a press conference where they took an American company to Ireland, played the video game like everybody had set up shop. I mean, it’s a big deal to leave them hanging right there.
“The official reason he did that was for a discolored pinky toe which may or may not be broken and may or may not be his. He didn’t take a picture of himself with the toe. He took a picture of a toe and posted it online,” Sonnen continued. “It was discolored red and purple and I’m sure it was very sore, but with no evidence that it was broken, or even any evidence that it was even his.
“If you pull out of a fight because of a discolored pinky toe that may or may not be yours, that may or may not be broken, you’re not fighting again. It’s just the truth.”
Chael Sonnen: ‘You can’t book Conor McGregor for a fight’
McGregor hasn’t fought since losing to Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight at UFC 264 in July 2021. In the final seconds of the opening round, McGregor suffered a broken leg. Sonnen thinks the belief that McGregor could come back from such an injury and compete at the highest level is unreasonable and unrealistic.
“Whatever adult that allows Conor McGregor to return with the same exact injury that Chris Weidman had – Now Chris Weidman, possibly being the most disciplined guy in the sport and Conor, possibly being the most undisciplined guy in the sport,” Sonnen said.
“Chris Weidman doing everything right from rehab, taking his time and focusing to being home at night and going to bed and getting rest on his leg. He did everything right and did not return as somebody which could follow the basic rule which was to protect himself at all times. That hindered, repaired leg was that big of an obstacle,” Sonnen continued.
“But we’re supposed to believe that Conor can not only return from the same injury, he can return better? And we know we think that he’s going to be better because we’re not booking him for three-round fights. We’re booking him exclusively for five-round main events. So, he is going to have to perform at a much higher level than ‘The All American.’ The laws of logic disqualify that. The basic rule if protect yourself at all times. Conor McGregor is not in a position with anybody under contract with the UFC to protect himself at all times. It’s a silly proposition.”
“If you’re talking about any level of responsibility, you can’t book him, and you definitely can’t book him in a five-round fight. That’s insane.”
