29 August 2023 , 17:22
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Conor McGregor has cast doubt on his UFC comeback after joking about his training camp ahead of a potential fight with Michael Chandler later this year.
The Irishman delighted fans with a new physique in a series of photos from what appeared to be a fight camp in Cannes over the past few weeks, but has joked now that he wouldn't need a whole build-up to fighting Chandler. He recently shared an alleged leak from UFC Fight Pass that indicated he would face the American at UFC 296 on December 16, although that has yet to be confirmed.
And in a new Instagram post, McGregor poured cold water on the idea that his trip to Cannes was a fight camp specific to his upcoming meeting with Chandler. In pictures from the gym he can be seen training with Kiefer Crosbie, who fights next week at UFC 293 as well as Ciaran Clarke, who competes at Bellator 299 two weeks later.
A fan account re-shared a photo of McGregor's training team with the caption: "Guess The Chandler Camp is in full motion, with Kiefer fighting in 12 days in UFC and the lads scheduled for Bellator on September 23, I can only imagine the PPV rounds these men are putting themselves through." But the Irishman hit back with a laughing emoji saying "A camp for Chandler lol... UFC ready."
He has been pushing to get back to action as soon as possible, ideally against Chandler after the pair coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter this year. But his efforts have been stifled consistently and he is now training with seemingly no clear date in mind for the return.
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A new series of photos posted yesterday show he and fiancee Dee Devlin out and about, with many fans noticing how much lighter he looks than previous pictures. He was believed to have hit as high as 195lb and admitted during an unaired piece of TUF footage with fellow fighter Stephen Thompson that he hadn't looked at the scales for a while, but looked a different man in the new post.
He captioned it "Love you always baby," and fans expressed their excitement in the comments with one writing "Starting to slim down already I see. The fight is definitely coming." Another added that "The prime face is coming back," while many noted that his face "looks normal".
McGregor last fought at UFC 264 in the summer of 2021 when he faced Dustin Poirier in a trilogy bout, snapping his leg in gruesome fashion at the end of the first round. He has been out of action since, but returned to sparring early last year and is keen to return within 2023.