UFC legend Chael Sonnen has warned Conor McGregor he can't "play" in his return to the octagon after two years out of action later this year.
The former two-weight world champion has begun to tease fans with the possibility that he will mark his return by coaching on The Ultimate Fighter, likely against Tony Ferguson. He has been out of action for two years since suffering a broken leg at the hands of Dustin Poirier in 2021, but appears to be back to full health as he looks to make a comeback at welterweight.
And Sonnen, who himself fought for world titles at two weight classes in the UFC, believes that McGregor must understand the dangers of his return before committing to anything. His comments followed those of the Irishman's coach John Kavanagh who this week indicated that he will be back this year.
"This is just one thing you don't play," Sonnen explained in a new YouTube video. "You don't play fighting. You don't do it for recreation. You don't do it to get in shape, you don't do it for fun. It's something else, it's something different, people aren't trying to score points on you they're trying to damage you.
"So the reason why you're here is very important. I thought it was very responsible by Coach Kavanagh, he said 'I'm going to visit, talk with Conor' and he said 'when we're talking I'm going to throw some names at him, but I'm going to be reading his body language. If there's a specific name where lights up or perks up more, that's probably the direction that we're going to go'."
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During Kavanagh's interview he mentioned a number of opponents that McGregor could face, including a trilogy with Nate Diaz or a tetralogy with Dustin Poirier. However, it appears that one of Ferguson or Michael Chandler, both lightweights who would need to move up to 170lb, is leading the charge.
"I do believe from what my ears were picking up on, reading body language, trying to understand the tone, I do believe that our discussions of Conor and a world championship we can stop right now," Sonnen continued. "That's been out there and don't think that wouldn't come back.
"Don't think for a millisecond that Islam or Volkanovski emerges and Conor says 'boom, I'm next' that we're not having that conversation. The same particularly if Leon [Edwards, the welterweight champion] wins [against Kamaru Usman in March]. We're not going to start having that conversation if they wanted to. I don't know that they want to. I think that Conor wants to have a match."
