- The Irishman was forced to withdraw from his June 29 showdown with Chandler
- UFC legend Matt Brown is confident that McGregor’s in-ring career has finished
- It comes despite McGregor insisting that he will make a return in the future
UFC legend Matt Brown is confident that Conor McGregor will never return to the ring, after the Irish superstar pulled out of his fight with Michael Chandler.
McGregor was scheduled to finally take on Chandler at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29.
UFC president Dana White announced last week that McGregor had been forced to pull out after suffering an injury, raising fears that the 35-year-old could retire.
One person who always had doubts over the UFC 303 bout is former welterweight fighter Brown, with McGregor’s withdrawal only strengthening his belief that the Irishman will retire.
‘I was never confident before that he would (come back),’ Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs The Writer.
Conor McGregor pulled out of his UFC 303 fight with Michael Chandler due to an injury
It has left many to speculate whether McGregor will retire from in-ring competition
MMA Legend Matt Brown believes fans have seen the last of McGregor inside a UFC ring
‘It didn’t shock me when I saw he was out of this fight. No I’m still on that same train – he’s not ever coming back.
‘I say the same thing I said before, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope I’m wrong. I would like to see Conor fight again.
‘I would like to see him do a real training camp with real training partners, push himself hard, go back to the great Conor that he was before.
‘I would love to see that. I think a lot of people would love to see that. It’s not happening.’
Brown’s claims come despite McGregor insisting he will return to the Octagon in the future.
‘Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,’ he said in an Instagram post on Saturday.
‘I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me.
‘The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there!
McGregor has insisted he will make a return despite pulling out of his fight against Chandler
The Irishman admits it was ‘very tough’ to cancel the bout while promising he will be back
‘Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!’
McGregor had been slated to fight Chandler for well over a year, with the pair initially going head to head as coaches on the 2023 instalment of The Ultimate Fighter.
White’s plan was for the two men to conclude that season by fighting each other, only for McGregor’s return to the Octagon to be delayed until 2024 when he failed to enter anti-doping agency USADA’s testing pool in time.
The former two-weight UFC champion has not competed in close to three years, with his last outing against Dustin Poirier ending in gruesome fashion when he broke his leg in the first round.
He has been working his way back to full fitness and sharpness ever since, though his latest pullout has left fans concerned that he will never fight again.
