Conor McGregor’s return ‘teaser’ that dropped at UFC 301 hasn’t resonated with the MMA fandom. The Irish MMA icon is set to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas. Will he make a triumphant return? Does he have it in him to replicate the magic of his title run from 2015-’16? Or will he be on the same path as fallen greats like Ronda Rousey and Anderson Silva?
While the fight was originally expected to take place last year after the pair’s stint as coaches on TUF 31, delays in the form of McGregor’s issues with drug testing and his Hollywood obligations led to the fight not receiving a date until fairly recently. The Irishman is returning from a horrific leg break at UFC 264 that put him on the sideline for three years. Before that, he faced his first-ever KO loss at UFC 257.
Since returning from a similar leg break, former champion Anderson Silva was only able to win one out of six UFC bouts. Does a similar fate await McGregor? While these questions gain traction, fans can be assured that the former champion is not lacking confidence.
In a recent update, ESPN shared a teaser featuring McGregor that attempted to build hype for ‘The Notorious’s return but it seems to have not landed with the fandom. McGregor had also shared the post on his Instagram story, with a cryptic message that stated, “Unforgiving Person.”
The bout will be contested at 170 lbs and has also drawn the attention of Charles Oliveira, the former UFC lightweight champion who won the vacant title by finishing Michael Chandler in their clash at UFC 262 in 2021. According to recent reports, ‘Do Bronx’ has offered to be the ‘back-up’ for the event in case either McGregor or Chandler is unable to make the walk to the cage on the night.
This drew a response from McGregor on X where he stated, “I do yous both in the same night, no sweat. I do yous both inside of a round. Combined,” indicating that his confidence remains unshaken despite the long hiatus from MMA. However, the fans haven’t exactly been thrilled with the release of the teaser for the event as they took to the comments section to make their thoughts known. Here’s a look at what they had to say:
Fans are not optimistic about Conor McGregor’s return following UFC 303 return teaser
Fans claimed that there might be a possibility that Conor McGregor’s return might share the same fate as Ronda Rousey who came back after over a year away from the Octagon to face Amanda Nunes in 2016 and was demolished early in the first round. In her previous fight, ‘Rowdy’ had suffered a vicious head-kick KO loss at the hands of Holly Holm – “Lol is it gonna be like Rousey’s comeback”
Some others humorously claimed that the video reminded them of the video game, ‘Call of Duty’ and its promotional teasers –“Thought this was the new COD teaser.” This was a rather interesting jibe, because McGregor was featured in the 2016 installment called ‘Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare,’ where he voiced the character ‘Captain Bradley Fillion.’
Meanwhile, some other fans slammed McGregor over the perception that he was only returning to fighting for the “checks.” – “Nah. This guy just cashing checks.” The former double champion has been striking up rivalries with entities outside the UFC, widely drawing opinions that he’s looking to finish up his UFC contract and move on to more lucrative fights outside the promotion.
In a statement that was unique by its complete lack of focus on McGregor, one fan stated that they thought the teaser was released at the wrong time. According to them, it would have built more hype if it had been released at the historic UFC 300 event – “Like this comment if you think this should have been announced at UFC300.” This is an interesting one, given how many have felt that the UFC dropped the balls with recent event/fight announcements.
The UFC 300 main event announcement was expected to drop during the Super Bowl, instead, it dropped during UFC 298. Further, the event did not feature McGregor, as many expected. However, the promotion saved face, thanks to the heroics of the likes of Max Holloway and Alex Pereira, and the overall quality of the top-to-bottom stacked card. The UFC 303 and UFC 302 fight announcements happened during the post-fight press conference for UFC 300, with very little fanfare.
Fans also pointed out that Conor McGregor’s last win inside the Octagon came in 2020 against Donald Cerrone but he is still a major promotional draw for the UFC – “Can’t win a fight but can promote a fight like nobody else.”
The same sentiment was echoed by another fan who highlighted the fact that McGregor’s appeal doesn’t stem from his wins or losses but his personality that has made him one of the most famous MMA athletes on the planet: “Do yal not understand this guy could lose his next ten fights ppl will still want to see him fight n pay money for it regardless if he ranked or not”
However, other fans also took shots at McGregor’s previous 2 losses against Dustin Poirier and claimed that he should not have been given a “promo” by the UFC: “Done lost his last 2 fights and yall giving him a promo? Lmao”
Some others pointed out that the Irishman’s prolonged absence from the UFC is a reason why it’s hard for many fans to get “hyped” for his comeback: “Trying so hard to hype up his re-re-return”
What are your thoughts on the UFC 303 teaser for Conor McGregor? Share them with us in the comments below!
