Ex-Champion Conor McGregor ruled out of expected fighting return at UFC 300: ‘Now it’s July’
Former two-division champion, Conor McGregor will now potentially be sidelined from the Octagon further than an expected comeback at UFC 300, with the Dubliner’s head coach, John Kavanagh claiming July has been discussed as a potential date for a return – despite initial plans for an April comeback.
McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight titleholder under the banner of the promotion, has been sidelined from the Octagon since he suffered a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier, fracturing his left tibia and fibula.
Expected to fight one-time lightweight title chaser, Michael Chandler in his return to the Octagon after serving as an opposing coach on The Ultimate Fighter 31 earlier this year, McGregor has stressed his intentions to fight as soon as possible, recently claiming he is being kept from competing again.
Conor McGregor’s return has been discussed for July
Sharing an update on his student’s fighting future, amid continued links to a fight with Chandler at a monumental UFC 300 card in April, McGregor’s coach, Kavanagh claims July has now been discussed as a potential timeframe for his return.
“We were hoping for April, that was the hope,” John Kavanagh told MMA Fighting. “That is what we were told, not it seems to be the summertime. Are they [the UFC] holding him (Conor McGregor) back for International Fight Week? I don’t really know. It’s a knock back that we were hearing April, but now it’s July. It’s not the end of the world. It is an extra couple of months.”
“It’s not great, but hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment,” Kavanagh explained. “Let’s just keep that going.”
Forced to rebound from a two-fight losing skid for the first time in his fighting career in his expected UFC return, prior to his doctor’s stoppage loss to Poirier, McGregor dropped his first mixed martial arts knockout loss in January of that year, in the form of a second round finish against the Lafayette native in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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