When the Notorious Connor McGregor fights the world stops to watch, pay per view figures go through the roof, betting sites are overwhelmed and all that anyone in the game can talk about is the Irishman. The last we saw of McGregor however was last October and after a spate of controversies and legal issues in his personal life, people are genuinely starting to doubt if we’ll ever see him back in the Octagon. Let’s take a look at whether or not this is likely.
January Failure
McGregor started to make some noises a couple of months ago during press conferences and on his social media pages that he was eyeing a return to the sport in January, against a yet to be named opponent. McGregor of course wishes to avenge his defeat to Khabib, but the Russian has no plans to fight the Irishman and the ball is firmly in his court. Tongues wagged as to who the potential opponent may be with many expecting Cowboy Cerrone to be the man in question. Today however it was announced that the only event taking place in January is a Fight Night on the 18th, which of course won’t feature the Notorious given that it isn’t a PPV event. The next event after that will be UFC 246 on February 8th which looks set to be Jones v Reyes and y’all know that McGregor won’t be doing a co-headline slot.
Business Interests
Connor McGregor has made himself a global brand and he has used that brand to promote his Proper Twelve whisky and his tailor-made suits. Something which many fail to realize is that as long as he is in the conversation when it comes to a UFC return, he will be able to continue to promote his brand, and his business ventures. When we hear Connor talking about his potential return and then Dana White comes out and says he hasn’t heard a word about it, you have to start thinking that Connor has other things on his mind, mainly his money. A comeback and a defeat for Connor could be devastating, especially as many fans have turned against him following his recent public behavior. If that did happen then his brands could take some big hits.
Loose Ends
Although the signs are pointing to McGregor not returning to the Octagon, it is important to remember who the man is in terms of finishing business. McGregor knows that he can’t bow out on a defeat to Khabib, and that bad blood is very strong, he also knows that a 1-1 with Diaz is not good enough and as a money man he’ll know that the trilogy fight will bring in huge numbers.
McGregor may well be keeping himself in the conversation for business interests, or he may genuinely be waiting for some matches to resolve themselves before he decides to get back in. The one thing that is for sure is that the longer he waits, the harder it will be for him to shake off the ring rust.