Ex-MMA champion declares Conor McGregor is ‘never going to fight again’ after UFC 303 withdrawal

Conor McGregor offered fight fans an update on his condition during an appearance at the Bellator Champions Series card in Dublin on Saturday.

McGregor was on hand to corner teammate Sinead Kavanagh as she stepped inside the cage for a rematch with Arlene Blencowe. Following the fight, the Irish megastar spoke with Severe MMA backstage where he offered some insight into the injury that took him out of his UFC 303 headliner with Michael Chandler.

“We just adjust,” McGregor said. “Everything is moving. Everything is moving parts, so I’m good. The injury is a nuisance. It’s painful. I’m not going to lie. It’s very, very painful—probably even more than the leg, and that’s the truth. I’ll tell you why: The leg was at least wrapped up. I couldn’t access it. The foot is just there still. It’s like it’s exposed or something. It’s a bit painful, but it comes with the territory. I need to just dial it in, get my training camps correct” (h/t MMA Junkie).

As for when we can expect to see his long-awaited clash with Chandler, ‘Mystic Mac’ revealed that August or September is the goal.

“August-September … August-September, I’d love,” McGregor said. “You know the way it is. I’m in recovery mode.”

Despite Conor McGregor’s hopeful words, there are still those within the MMA community who believe we’ve already seen the last of the Irishman inside the Octagon. That includes former Bellator and ONE world champion Ben Askren who wrote on X:

“So, you’re never going to fight again….. I guess we all suspected this.”

Askren wasn’t the only one to throw shade at McGregor once learning more about the injury that forced him out of International Fight Week. Lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev, featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, and former 155-pound king Rafael dos Anjos all chimed in with some very unfavorable comments.

Conor McGregor refuses to fight injured after disastrous UFC 264 incident

It’s been nearly three years since we’ve last seen Conor McGregor inside the Octagon. In July 2021, he stepped inside the Octagon for a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. In the later moments of the opening round, McGregor suffered a broken leg, bringing an end to the fight.

Going into that bout already compromised, the former two-division titleholder has no intention of walking into another fight with an injury, big or small.

“The UFC has been stellar,” McGregor said. “They’ve really gone above for me. I’m so grateful for that because I was in a dark place. Now, I’m all right. I’m coming. I’m all right. I’m getting there again. I’m ready to go again, soon enough. I’m just very appreciative of them assisting me. I’m sad for the fans that wanted the entertainment of the pay-per-view, of the press conference and the pay-per-view and the card and all. But look, it was just one of those damned things.

“How could I justify making that walk again and then be stationary, flat on the feet, and then saying to my fans afterward, ‘Oh, this happened but I made the walk for you guys’? The fans have seen this. I can’t do it again. If you’re paying that much, you deserve to see the best of me. So that’s what they’re going to see. It’s on me now and my team of coaches and my team of training partners to really dial it in and make sure that happens and I’m confident we will.”