UFC legend Chael Sonnen has expressed his concern over how serious Conor McGregor and the UFC are about his comeback, calling his return fight with Michael Chandler "weird".
McGregor has been out of action since July 2021 when he suffered a broken leg during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, but is back in training and keen to make his way back into the octagon. He has just filmed a season of The Ultimate Fighter with Michael Chandler, whom he is expected to face later this year, although no date has been set.
And former middleweight and lightweight contender Sonnen believes there are still doubts over whether or not the fight will happen, particularly given McGregor's struggled with the US Anti-Doping Agency. The Irishman is in need of a six-month period back in their testing pool and two negative tests after previously 'retiring' while he worked on his injury.
“Something here isn’t passing the smell test," Sonnen said during a recent episode of The True Gordie podcast. "All of a sudden Conor’s back and he’s going to take on Chandler. Great. Why? Why are these two fighting? Moreover, when are they fighting? Where they fighting? What weight class?
"We’re told these two 155-pounders are going to fight at 170. That was weird because now it’s not for contendership. We know it’s not for championship but now it’s not even for rankings. So, why are we doing this? Just as a pure cash grab? Okay but that’s not generally the way it’s done.
"So, they come out and correct the statement. They said no, 155 pounds is where the weight class is. Chandler says 155 and Conor says no, it’s 170. We don’t even have a weight class agreed upon. I think that’s weird.”
Sonnen is also concerned about McGregor entering a secluded training camp in Big Bear, California while still not through the weeds with USADA. He has stayed in America after filming the reality show with Chandler in Las Vegas, visiting New York and Orlando as he works towards training again.
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"Secondly, Conor’s boots on the ground,” Sonnen continued. “He put out a tweet that he’s setting up camp at Big Bear. Camp is something he traditionally does 8-10 weeks before a fight. He’s not in the USADA pool. USADA has spoken up and said the day he enters he must give us 6 months.
"Conor disputed that but between the two, we have to think it’s the agency. Conor still hasn’t enlisted in the pool. He hasn’t started that clock. That’s a very precarious thing. Are we getting ready to see a feud between Conor and USADA? If so, sign me up. But I want to know.”
“This whole thing is very odd. Supposedly, he’s going to fight Chandler. Where are they going to fight? What weight? Who else is on the card? When are we doing it? When do they put it on sale? Where’s the announcement? The poster? Something about it is not right.”
