The once fabled dynasty has fallen and all we have left is debris. Sounds dramatic right? But this is how the UFC’s biggest superstar would have described his jarring downfall. Conor McGregor has been out of action since 2021 when he horrifically broke his leg clean in two. He does seem desperate for a fight as he has been quite vocal in calling for a date since last year. Thankfully, he got his wish and was set to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this June, but alas had to pull out due to another freak injury.

He hasn’t been quiet since, and recently called for a fight against Dan Hooker in February 2025. However, UFC veteran and keen-eyed analyst Matt Brown, feels all of this is just smoke and mirrors, and ‘Mac’ in fact does not plan to fight in the UFC ever again.

“The Hooker fight? I don’t think Conor’s gonna fight again, to be honest. Everybody forgets he told us he’s not gonna fight. He told us he was coming in, getting money, and getting out. That’s literally the words that he said. So I think he likes being in the news. I think he likes being relevant,” Brown said in an EssentiallySports Exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw.

In fact, the ‘The Immortal’ feels that ‘Mac’, who has a knack for remaining in the headlines, will dangle the carrot of his comeback over the UFC world, all the while having no real intention to do so.

“So that’s gonna be, he’s gonna linger that ‘I’m gonna come back’ for as long as he can. Look there’s a chance he comes back. I mean I could be wrong, I don’t think he’s going to,” he added. Indeed this sentiment seems to be shared by none other than UFC CEO Dana White himself.

The endless maze of Conor McGregor’s return

Conor McGregor is still signed with the UFC and has two fights left on his contract. UFC CEO Dana White said at the UFC 309 post-presser earlier this month that the Irishman will be back next year. But there’s a catch! The head honcho iterated the same last year, and the year before that. This seems like a maze of sorts with endless lanes, leading nowhere. In fact, the UFC seems to not even really be interested in McGregor anymore despite him being the biggest-ever MMA star.

This raises the question- does the UFC know something we don’t? After all, White has consistently said that McGregor has made “too much money” which makes it very hard for him to “get up and fight.” However, he did say last month that “Conor McGregor will fight in [2025].”

The last statement may well be White doing his job as a promoter and promising fans the return of the sport’s biggest-ever star. Certainly, the rest of his comment makes it seem like he agrees with what Matt Brown said in our ES Exclusive interview. But whether that is the case or not, only time will tell. What do you think about Matt Brown’s take on Conor McGregor’s return?