Conor McGregor has strongly suggested he might not come back to the UFC.
The fighter from Ireland was supposed to return to the octagon last summer to fight Michael Chandler. However, he had to withdraw from their planned June fight because of a broken left pinky toe.
UFC officials had predicted a return for McGregor in the autumn of last year. But recently, they have expressed uncertainty about his future in the sport.
McGregor, who is 36 years old, has been actively promoting Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships for the past six months. He has now given the clearest indication yet that he might fight in that organization.
The Notorious posted a video on his Instagram story last Friday showing himself doing bare-knuckle training with his coach.
He followed this with another video of him hitting a punching bag with bare fists, along with several photos.
This footage quickly became a hot topic among MMA fans. One fan questioned if he was making a change.
Another suggested he was changing production companies.
Another simply reacted with “Wow.”
One fan commented on their anticipation to see him fight again.
Someone else wondered if McGregor could buy out his remaining contract with the UFC.
McGregor’s hint about switching to BKFC, a company he has invested in, comes shortly after he admitted that he is more interested in influencer boxing than fighting in UFC.
He mentioned in an interview that he is now more drawn to influencer boxing because of the huge amounts of money involved.
He named Jake Paul, Logan Paul, and KSI as examples, saying he liked these fighters and considers influencer boxing as an interesting and profitable side venture.
McGregor has not fought in the octagon since he broke his leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
UFC CEO and President Dana White had initially said McGregor would return this fall.
However, he recently admitted he is unsure about McGregor’s return.
When asked about McGregor at a press conference last month, White responded that he was not sure when McGregor would be back.
If McGregor does fight again, it will be his first fight since being found responsible in a civil case for assaulting Nikita Hand at a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
McGregor has appealed this verdict.
