Chael Sonnen casts doubt on Conor McGregor's UFC return: "Not foolish enough to believe"

Chael Sonnen recently opened up about Conor McGregor's MMA career and cast doubt that fans will ever see him return to the octagon. He noted that it has been difficult to get the Irishman to compete and doesn't believe a comeback will materialize this year.

The former two-division champion has been linked to a bout against Michael Chandler for two years, however, the promotion has yet to officially announce when their bout will take place. It has been postponed and rescheduled due to various circumstances including McGregor's press obligations for his film debut and an injury that forced him out of UFC 303.

Despite UFC CEO Dana White claiming the Irishman could return this year, the former middleweight title challenger isn't convinced and actually believes he's retired.

During the latest episode of ESPN's Good Guy / Bad Guy, Sonnen mentioned that he doubts McGregor will return to the octagon and believes that he basically announced his retirement when he withdrew from his bout against Chandler:

"No, I'm not going to be foolish enough to believe that we can get that fight [between McGregor and Chandler] to the ring for Chandler or for anybody else for Conor sadly. The sport is more fun when Conor's around, but no, we can't get him in the ring...Zero [percent chance], Conor will not fight again. When Conor pulled out of the fight with Chandler, it was akin to saying, 'I'm retired'. Whether he knows it or not, his career ended that moment." [18:35]

Check out the full episode featuring Chael Sonnen's comments regarding Conor McGregor below:

---

Chael Sonnen makes interesting comparison to Conor McGregor's current situation

In addition to casting doubt on Conor McGregor returning to the octagon this year, Chael Sonnen also made an interesting comparison to the Irishman's current situation.

'The Notorious' hasn't competed since UFC 264, but has continued to hint at an imminent return since recovering from his leg injury. During the aforementioned episode, Sonnen compared McGregor withdrawing from his bout against Michael Chandler to a politician suspending their campaign:

"Have you ever seen a politician, Daniel? They got the election coming up and the politician will suspend his campaign. He doesn't step down...Okay, when you suspend your campaign, it is the exact same thing as ending you campaign. When Conor McGregor withdrew from Chandler, he ended his career." [18:58]

Check out the initial promo for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler below: