Conor McGregor has now been accused by UFC legend Chael Sonnen of photoshopping photos of his physique.
The UFC superstar is currently out of action after suffering a broken leg in his defeat last July by Dustin Poirier, but has returned to training ahead of a comeback in 2023. During his time following the rehabilitation programme, McGregor has shown off an impressively ripped physique and revealed he tips the scales at 190lb with a view to returning to the UFC at 170lb.
McGregor has been regularly keeping fans updated during his recovery process, posting pictures of himself posing and flexing topless with his new muscly frame. This led YouTuber ''More Plates More Dates' - real name Derek - accuse McGregor of using Photoshop to doctor his pictures, claiming his physique is beyond what he is "naturally capable of".
UFC legend Sonnen has claimed he is surprised that many have only just made such a claim, claming he has known for a long while. “Derek, More Plates More Dates came out and did a piece on Conor McGregor,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel when discussing the allegation against McGregor. “I’m paraphrasing, but he said the photos that he’s putting out are photoshopped. That’s where I’ve got to stop you.
"Did we not know that? I assumed you knew that. Do you guys not know that those photos of big, strong (McGregor), do you not know that those are photoshopped? I had no idea that this was a belief or an assumption in the community. Have you not known that from the beginning? I never knew you guys believed these photos. Those are photoshopped. I thought the world knew this.
“I have got to tell you, I’m a little bit stunned on that. It makes you a bit of an idiot. You have got kids in high school that can tell you when something is photoshopped." McGregor's muscly frame has stunned fans regularly in the past year, with the Irishman confirming he intends to return at welterweight when he graces the octagon again in 2023.
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McGregor could be out until deep into the new year as UFC fighters are required to be enrolled in the USADA drug testing pool for six months prior to competing. With the 34-year-old currently absent from the pool, many have suggested it could be linked with his weight, or could even signal a longer absence.
But Sonnen has claimed his bulkier physique is down to retention of water during his training. “Conor comes out and he looks big," he said in a previous video "Then it gets revealed that he’s not in the USADA testing pool. That’s not what you saw in those pictures. You saw a guy who was bloated. So he’s retained a lot of water weight."
