“Excited with President Trump announcing a UFC fight event at the White House. I would be honoured! Count me in!” Conor McGregor still has two fights left in his UFC contract. After Donald Trump announced an event at the White House to mark America’s 250th birthday, McGregor simply couldn’t stay away. However, looking at his past failed comeback plans and the UFC 303 fight that never really materialized, the UFC world still has some doubts. Even Dana White and Eddie Alvarez seem unsure about his return.
Dana White didn’t mince words when he weighed in on the possibility of having ‘The Notorious’ as a contender for UFC White House. During his appearance on the Full Send podcast, the UFC head honcho said, “Now he’s got to find something that truly motivates him to want to come back and do this again. I don’t know if the White House is it, but we’ll see.” And McGregor’s former opponent, Eddie Alvarez, also has a similar opinion.
‘The Underground King’ recently weighed in on McGregor’s claims to return to fight at the White House in an interview with Dave Schmulenson. Alvarez was pretty uncertain about McGregor’s comeback as he said, “I don’t know, man. I don’t know. Only Conor knows that. I don’t think so. But we’ll see. Dana and him have their own conversations. We’re not privy to them. We don’t know. So, only God knows, man. We’ll see.” But who would McGregor fight if he actually returns?
‘The Schmo’ pointed to Michael Chandler as McGregor’s opponent. After all, he was supposed to battle McGregor at UFC 303, but a broken pinky toe ruined all plans. And having fought both McGregor and Chandler, Alvarez is the perfect man to talk about the Irishman’s opponents. And according to him, ‘Iron’ Mike and Mike Perry are viable matchups. He continued, “I think if Conor does come back, I think Mike Chandler is the guy to do it against. Mike Perry saying, ‘I’ll come down to 170 to fight Conor,’ that’s really interesting to me. I’d like to see that inside the Octagon as well. But there’s a ton of matchups for that guy. Ton of them.”
MMA: UFC 264-McGregor vs Poirier, Jul 10, 2021 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Conor McGregor before fighting Dustin Poirier during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports, 10.07.2021 21:17:47, 16393792, NPStrans, T-Mobile Arena, Dustin Poirier, MMA, TopPic, Conor McGregor PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 16393792
Alvarez got a taste of how strong Conor McGregor was when he fought the Irishman at UFC 205. ‘The Notorious’ absolutely dominated the ‘The Underground King’. In the second round, he dropped Alvarez with a four-punch combo before finishing him via ground and pound. This was the second round KO win that made McGregor a double champion. It’s his inactivity following the gruesome injury at UFC 264 that has put his return in doubt. But it’s not just Dana White or Eddie Alvarez that cast their doubts on the return of Conor McGregor. Chael Sonnen is also skeptical. Let’s see what he had to say.
Chael Sonnen gets honest about Conor McGregor opting to fight in the White House card
While talking to Daniel Cormier about McGregor’s return to fight at the White House, Sonnen recalled when ‘The Notorious’ withdrew from UFC 303. Sonnen claimed, “They had a $25 million gate [for UFC 303] that was waiting. They were doing a press conference two miles from Conor’s home in Ireland when we get a picture of a discolored pinky toe, which may or may not be broken and may or may not have even belonged to Conor. Like, he doesn’t take a picture of a pinky toe and then he scrolls it up to himself, there’s just a picture of a purple toe and this whole event is off.”
Weighing on both Conor McGregor and Jon Jones wanting to fight at the suggested UFC White House event, Sonnen added, “At some point, if you’re Dana, you’re going, ‘Listen, you’re going to burn me once but you’re not going to get me twice and I’ve got to be able to trust the guys that I’m working with.’
“That’s where things get tough. I do believe that Conor would like to fight if it was at The White House, but I think if they bring something special to The White House, I think you’re likely to have a title somewhere in there and Conor doesn’t qualify for that and Jones has openly said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ If I’m to take these guys at their word, then I’ve got to call B.S”, ‘The American Gangster surmised.
So that leaves us with nothing but uncertainty about Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon. However, if he does make a comeback to fight Michael Chandler at the White House, it would be nothing short of an epic event. Who else do you think is a good opponent for ‘Mystic Mac’s apparent return?
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