When it comes to Conor McGregor and his shocking inactivity over the last two and a half years, ESPN analyst Din Thomas is tired of hearing about possible fights and wishes UFC fans could just forget about the Irish superstar.
After a year and a half of recovery from a serious leg injury, fight fans were thrilled when they found out early in 2023 that Conor McGregor was expected to return to the Octagon soon. However, after filming the latest season of “The Ultimate Fighter” the months fell off the calendar and a matchup against lightweight star Michael Chandler was never made official.
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In December, “Notorious” took to his social media accounts and claimed he would be back in action this July. Unfortunately, that idea was seemingly shot down recently by UFC President Dana White and a fight in the fall instead could be possible. The constant postponements have frustrated some fans, as well as members of the media, like long-time ESPN analyst Din Thomas.
In a recent conversation with Ringside Intel, the talented MMA coach explained why he wishes McGregor had taken a reputation hit with fans for his inactivity, as well as his distaste for how a fight date never being set has hurt opponent, Michael Chandler.
Din Thomas on Conor McGregor: ‘I don’t like when a guy has as much leverage as he does’
“If it was up to me, he would lose his esteem,” Thomas said. “I don’t like it. I don’t like playing with people’s emotions. I don’t like when a guy has as much leverage as he does, to be able to do what he’s doing. To be able to string Michael Chandler along. To have an entire season of TUF revolve around him [and] totally disrespect that whole show and not show up half the time. I’m hoping that we just forget about him.”
A potential McGregor vs. Chandler fight being moved to the fall, despite the summer months still being so far off is something that also was confusing to Thomas, who hilariously claimed even he hasn’t ruled out fighting in the summer despite being retired.
“He obviously makes a ton of money for us to not forget about him. And the UFC obviously has a lot of faith that when he fights it’s going to really do numbers,” he said. “… The fan base still likes him. He’s got this movie [Road House] coming out. I thought that he would fight to promote this movie. But who knows?
“Like, how do you already rule out the summer? It’s February. You ruled out the summer? I might even fight in the summer. I haven’t even ruled it out yet and I’ve been retired for a decade.”
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