Conor McGregor struggling to stay motivated amid delayed UFC return: ‘I lose interest and stop full training’
Conor McGregor is struggling to stay motivated as the UFC continues to delay his return to the Octagon.
It’s been nearly three years since the Irishman suffered a brutal leg break in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. McGregor’s return to action appears to be rapidly approaching, but thus far no official date has been locked down. On New Year’s Eve, the former two-division champion announced that his quote-unquote “greatest comeback in combat sports history” would go down on June 29 during the culmination of this year’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
While McGregor’s assumed opponent, Michael Chandler, has backed up his claims of the June date, UFC CEO Dana White has downright refused to confirm any details and has regularly placed the blame for additional delays on McGregor’s shoulders.
Speaking with The MAC Life while attending the premiere of his first feature film, Road House, Conor McGregor revealed that he has gone through multiple training camps thus far and is finding it increasingly difficult to stay motivated as the UFC continues to push back his return date.
“I’m wrapping up this tour, I’ve got the St. Paddy’s Day festivities coming up, and then I’m gonna get back and regroup,” McGregor said. “I’m gonna test myself physical wise on the treadmill and go about the McGregor fast way and get myself right back.
“I had a camp in Cannes, the South of France, I had a camp in Dubai where I had world champions training with me where I was hoping for a December date, then a January date. Then it keeps getting pushed back, then I lose interest and stop full training for a while. Not stop training, I will always train, but stop full training and drinking a little back. I’m going to go back and regroup.”
You Can Catch Conor McGregor in ‘Road House’ on March 21
There’s no telling when fight fans will get their Conor McGregor fix inside the Octagon, but on March 21, you can catch the Irishman as a badass named Knox in Road House. Described as an “adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic,” the film stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko) as “ex-UFC fighter Dalton who takes a job as a bouncer in a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that paradise is not all it seems.”
The film made its premiere on March 8 and thus far, has mostly favorable reviews, sporting a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That score is likely to change once the movie premieres on Amazon Prime Video later this month, but it’s an undeniably encouraging start for a picture that was plagued by a variety of production issues.
