Brendan Schaub shares theory explaining Conor McGregor’s delayed UFC return: ‘They’re trying to keep him under wraps’

Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub has an interesting theory as to why Conor McGregor has still not been booked for his return.

McGregor has been rehabbing his broken leg but has been campaigning for a return for quite some time. The Irishman has said he will be returning in June against Michael Chandler, but so far, nothing has been made official. However, according to Schaub, he believes the UFC is holding McGregor out of action so he can’t reach free agency and secure boxing fights on his own.

“There’s more to that story that we’re not getting,” Schaub said, via The Mirror. “But it’s going be International Fight Week, Conor didn’t pull that out of his a**. It’s going to be Michael Chandler…

I really think Conor just wants to do that one fight and then bounce, and make all the money fighting Manny Pacquiao, Jake Paul, and Nate Diaz in boxing or MMA in their own promotion in Dublin or wherever,” Schaub continued. “That’s what’s going on there, UFC is trying to, you know, do what they do, and keep him under wraps. So, we’ll see what happens. To Dana’s defence, he also was like, ‘The reason we didn’t announce the fight is like he’s doing all this promo for his movie.

“And he’s like, ‘To do a movie tour promo, like, that takes all your attention. Now that that’s done, he’s going to go to a legit camp, and the fight will be announced.’ He’s like ‘We’re just waiting ’till this movie, you, do their thing, and then we’ll piggyback on that and you get a fight announcement.’ So I’d assume we get a fight announcement pretty soon,” Schaub added.

It is an interesting theory, as it has been reported that Conor McGregor is nearing the end of his UFC deal. But, whether or not that actually is the case is uncertain.

Dana White is uncertain when Conor McGregor will fight

Although Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler have both said their fight will be happening in June, Dana White has shot that idea down.

According to White, he says McGregor being as rich as he is makes it hard for the Irishman to want to compete.

“First problem was that he broke that shin bone. He was recovering from that. That was one of the reasons,” White said after UFC 298. “The other problem is he’s f*cking rich.”

Ultimately, many fans are hopeful that Conor McGregor will be returning this summer against Michael Chandler.