Ex-contender: Conor McGregor's fighting career is over

Conor McGregor. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ex-UFC title contender says Conor McGregor's fighting career is over

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 8/25/23

Count Darren Till among the many who have their reservations about whether Conor McGregor (22-6) will actually go through with his next scheduled fight against Michael Chandler (23-8).

In fact, the ex-UFC welterweight title contender has his doubts that McGregor, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, actually gets back inside the Octagon ever again.

“Conor’s never coming back, in my opinion,” Till recently said, via 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.”

The 35-year-old McGregor has been on a more than two-yearlong hiatus after breaking his leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He had been coaching opposite Chandler on Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which wrapped up last weekend at UFC 292.

"I wish it was right now!" - Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler get their first face off! pic.twitter.com/FnyLiJilJZ
— The Mac Life (@TheMacLife) August 16, 2023

Chandler last fought in November 2022 — also against Poirier. Though he is adamant about wanting to fight McGregor, he did recently state that he has a deadline in his mind for how long he’ll wait for the fight to happen before moving onto another opponent.

McGregor recently stated that UFC officials won’t let him fight Chandler at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 as originally planned after Chris Weidman, who returned from an injury similar to McGregor’s, blew out his knee in his UFC 292 loss to Brad Tavares last weekend.

UFC president Dana White said the plan is for McGregor-Chandler to happen not long after the New Year.

“Maybe he’s going to come back and prove us all wrong,” Till added. “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.”

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