Conor McGregor has been told to consider retiring from fighting if he loses his UFC comeback fight against Michael Chandler.
Former two-weight champion McGregor, 34, will look for his first UFC win in over three years when he faces Chandler later this year after coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter. The Irishman travels to Las Vegas today to begin filming for the UFC's reality TV show and the series airs from May to August, with McGregor and Chandler expected to fight after that.
'Notorious' hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in their July 2021 trilogy fight at UFC 264. Two years would have passed by the time he returns to the octagon, marking the longest hiatus of his fighting career. McGregor's inactivity accompanied by his past few losses has led to UFC veteran Matt Brown to believe that retirement could be an option for the Irishman if he loses to Chandler.
“I have a hard time seeing Conor fighting again if he comes back and he loses, especially a bad loss like that,” Brown told MMA Fighting. “He doesn’t have any reason to [fight again]. He’s coming back because he loves fighting and he wants to put on a show and he wants to be a champion again,
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I’m sure. I can’t imagine him having the motivation to fight again if he comes back and gets knocked out by Michael Chandler. I think if Chandler does that, he uses that experience to his advantage, this might be his fight and we don’t see Conor again. He might send Conor into retirement.”
In his first interview since his fight against Chandler was announced, McGregor told Mirror Fighting that he is "energetic and ready" ahead of his UFC return. Brown has also backed McGregor to look "great" in his return despite fears that he could hang up his gloves with a loss to Chandler.
“I expect Conor to come back strong. I think he’s going to look great. I’m excited to see Conor again actually. I know he’s gotten really big here the past few years and he’s been out of the USADA pool and all of that’s going to be advantageous for him," Brown added.
“The only thing is he hasn’t fought. We all talk about ring rust all the time. Some people say it’s not real, some say it is and there’s different debates and opinions on that but when you’re out as long as Conor’s been out, dealing with what he’s been going through and then he came back after a long layoff. He’s just been so inactive the past few years."
