Taken that into consideration do we actually think Conor will return to the octagon. I believe he wants to compete and he is training hard. That said we have been let down in the past. I mean we had the ultimate fighter with Chandler, we had the prates rumours and white house whispers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For nearly five years now, the story of Conor McGregor hasn\u2019t been about what he\u2019s done inside the cage \u2014 it\u2019s been about when, or if, he\u2019ll come back to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every few months, the narrative resets. A date gets floated. Training clips appear. Dana White sounds optimistic. And then, just as quickly, it all unravels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After his loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 \u2014 a fight that ended with that gruesome leg break \u2014 McGregor\u2019s comeback became both inevitable and uncertain. Recovery was always going to take time, but what followed went far beyond a standard rehab timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2022, talk of a return had already started. McGregor re-entered the UFC\u2019s drug testing pool, hinting that a fight announcement wasn\u2019t far off. That never materialised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2023, the hype cycle kicked into full gear again. McGregor coached opposite Michael Chandler on The Ultimate Fighter<\/em>, a move that traditionally leads directly to a fight between the two coaches. Fans expected a summer showdown. It didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came 2024, when the promotion finally put a date on it: McGregor vs. Chandler at UFC 303. It looked real this time \u2014 until it wasn\u2019t. The fight was scrapped, reportedly due to injury, and just like that, another comeback dissolved into speculation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the uncertainty isn\u2019t just physical \u2014 it\u2019s everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McGregor\u2019s legal issues and controversies have repeatedly stalled momentum. From assault allegations to civil cases and public incidents, there\u2019s been a steady stream of headlines that have nothing to do with fighting but everything to do with why his career feels stuck in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when he\u2019s healthy, focused, and back in training, those distractions linger. They complicate negotiations, delay timelines, and make it harder for the UFC to fully commit to a return plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the UFC\u2019s perspective, McGregor is still the biggest star they\u2019ve ever had. There\u2019s always an incentive to believe \u2014 or at least say \u2014 that his return is close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n White has remained consistently upbeat, recently suggesting things are \u201clooking good\u201d for McGregor\u2019s comeback. But that optimism isn\u2019t new. He\u2019s said similar things before each of the past few false starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At some point, words stop carrying weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The promotion also has to think long-term. Banking a major event around McGregor only for it to fall apart again isn\u2019t just frustrating \u2014 it\u2019s risky business. That\u2019s likely why there\u2019s been more caution in how they schedule him, even if the public messaging stays positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a time when any McGregor return rumor felt electric. Now, it\u2019s met with skepticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not that people don\u2019t want to see him back \u2014 quite the opposite. But after multiple cancellations, delays, and near-announcements, fans have learned not to get invested until he\u2019s actually walking to the Octagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And even then, some will probably wait until the cage door shuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe. Probably, even. But \u201cprobably\u201d has been the answer for years now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McGregor is still only 30-something, still a massive draw, and still capable of generating interest unlike anyone else in the sport. A return makes sense \u2014 financially, competitively, and culturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But history matters. And the recent history of Conor McGregor\u2019s career is a pattern of almosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until that changes, skepticism isn\u2019t negativity \u2014 it\u2019s just paying attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u270d\ufe0f @robbie<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n @robbietalksmma<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember we are always watching the fights live over on YouTube : https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@watchingfights<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ok its been almost 5 years since we last seen Conor McGregor in the UFC octagon. Taken that into consideration do we actually think Conor will return to the octagon. I believe he wants to compete and he is training…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,15,2,4,3],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma-news","tag-conor-mcgregor","tag-ireland","tag-mma","tag-ufc","tag-watchingfights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions\/45"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchingfights.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The outside-the-cage distractions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The UFC\u2019s balancing act<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fans aren\u2019t buying it anymore<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So\u2026 is he really coming back?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n