Just ten days ahead of his comeback at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, Conor McGregor isn’t shying away from showing off his toned physique. Through social media, the Irishman has shared various training clips and some shirtless pics at Laguna Beach in California to show just how much in shape he really is. However, legendary coach Ray Longo, who has trained fighters like Merab Dvalishvili and Chris Weidman, doubts whether getting through the fight will be as easy for the 37-year-old as it may seem on the surface.

“This is a guy that, as much as I’ve grown to kind of like him and the way he speaks, this is a guy that’s really abused his body over the last five years,” Longo said on the Anik and Florian podcast. “The body is resilient. It could look good, but he’s got his work cut out for him against Holloway. I’m sure he’ll have a power advantage, but, you know, speed and combinations are going to be… He’s got a big ask in front of him. And I think it’s the way he’s lived his life for the last five years. That’s a hard life to live.

“Some guys can do it, man. I mean, some guys can do it. I’ve seen guys that can drink and go in and fight like it’s nothing. But age, plus that, tends to catch up with you after a while. But I don’t care what I’m looking at. I go back to the previous five years. You’re seeing the tip of the iceberg. Below that is a lot of debauchery. Let’s see if he can get past it.”  

During his five-year absence from the sport, Conor McGregor definitely lived a very different lifestyle, spending much of his time away from martial arts. For a while, the former two-division champion frequently gave fans a glimpse of his lavish lifestyle on social media, spending time with celebrities, enjoying himself at his pub, and occasionally sharing a few drinks. In the recent Paramount+ interview, McGregor admitted to making “mistakes” and getting “lost” in stardom.  

However, as Longo pointed out, there are a few fighters who can embrace this lifestyle and still come back successfully. Most notably, Jon Jones admitted on the Joe Rogan Podcast in a 2016 episode that he used to party a week before his fights. Though ‘Bones’ has confessed to doing that so he could shift the blame to partying if he ever lost. Well, Jones has never lost a fight since he made that honest admission. Still, there are a few UFC figures who doubt the same could happen for McGregor. 

Recently, Chael Sonnen shared some doubts over the Irishman’s commitment to training, too, by questioning why McGregor was appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon instead of staying with his camp at SBG Ireland on the Paramount+ podcast. Later, former BMF champion Jorge Masvidal also criticized McGregor’s lifestyle in the Deep Waters podcast in May, mentioning that McGregor lives a completely different “lifestyle,” while his opponent Max Holloway remains almost entirely focused on training and fighting. 

That said, while Conor McGregor is facing doubts ahead of his comeback, we’ll only find out the truth when ‘The Notorious’ finally clashes with Max Holloway in a rematch 13 years in the making.