"He's struggling to let go" - Former UFC star opines on why Conor McGregor will never fight again

Conor McGregor has not entered the octagon in over two years after breaking his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021. While he teased a return at UFC 296 in December against Michael Chandler, his opposing coach from season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, that no longer appears to be on the table. Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till believes that 'The Notorious' will never return to action.

Speaking to SportsLens, 'The Gorilla' stated:

"Conor’s never coming back in my opinion... Conor’s struggling to let go. He doesn’t want to let it go, but it’s time to let go. He’s older, he doesn’t train like he used to. He’s got the money, he's got his beautiful kids and the only problem with Conor right now is he just does not want to let it go. There’s going to come a day where he goes, 'I'm fighting with myself here and I need to let go'."

Till later added:

"My opinion of Conor is you have to respect what he’s done but it’s time to let go. He’s struggling to let go. Maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s going to come back and prove us all wrong. He might just not be ready in terms of testing or maybe he just wants to keep his name out there and he’s thinking in terms of next year. It’s tough to know. He’s a smarter businessman than most of us so you have to trust in what he’s doing."

Check out Darren Till's comments on Conor McGregor below (starting at the 0:16 mark):

McGregor has insisted that he is planning on returning to action, calling out multiple potential opponents. It is unclear, however, if he has entered the USADA testing pool. While the UFC could grant the former double champ an exemption as they did for Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, it is unclear if that is on the table.

Conor McGregor claims December return is on the table

UFC President Dana White shocked fans when he revealed that Conor McGregor's return will not take place in 2023. During a recent appearance on Crain & Company, the promotional frontman stated:

"Obviously, we're running this whole season of The Ultimate Fighter. To not do that fight would be ridiculous, but we're working on it. I'm hoping we can do it early next year."

Check out Dana White's comments on Conor McGregor's return below:

In a series of since-deleted voice notes McGregor appeared to confirm that his highly-anticipated bout with Michael Chandler would not take place this year. He backtracked the following day, however, tweeting:

"December is back on the table!"

Check out Conor McGregor's tweet below:

While the promotion would surely like to have him back this year, it remains unclear when 'The Notorious' will make his return to the octagon. UFC 296 remains without a main event, leaving open the possibility of a return in December.