Details Of Conor McGregor’s Supposed UFC 224 Return Emerge
Earlier today (Wed., June 6, 2018) former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor took to Twitter to react to making Forbes’ World’s Highest-Paid Athletes For 2018 list.
He took to Instagram to claim that he believes he could’ve moved up from the No. 4-spot, surpassing soccer mega-stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, to take No. 2 had he fought at UFC 224 last month in Brazil – like he had agreed to do:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjsOVWiAJyj/?utm_source=ig_embed
McGregor hasn’t fought in the UFC since November of 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title. He returned to combat sports action last August to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the boxing ring, a fight he lost via tenth-round TKO.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have been patiently waiting on The Notorious One’s Octagon return, and it looks like he could’ve made it in Brazil last month.
As per McGregor’s Instagram post, he suggests he was set to return in Rio De Janeiro at UFC 224 but didn’t name his supposed opponent.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that the opponent likely would’ve been Rafael dos Anjos and the interim welterweight title would’ve been on the line:
In this post, McGregor confirms my report from last month that the plan, before Brooklyn, was to have him fight in Rio at 224. (Not mentioned, but the plan, as reported, was RDA for the interim title.) https://t.co/0pl9XhxLFn
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 6, 2018
Ultimately this fight did not happen as McGregor would cause a massive scene during fight week at UFC 223 in Brooklyn. The Irishman stormed a parking lot alongside his entourage and assaulted fighter buses that were carrying competitors on the PPV card.
He even threw a dolly at a bus, which shattered a window and injured several fighters inside. This act was in retaliation for now-UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov confronting McGregor’s good friend and teammate, Artem Lobov, at the designated fighter hotel earlier that week.
Three fights from UFC 223 were canceled as a result. McGregor was subsequently arrested for his actions and has since been released.
