Islam Makhachev takes a dig at Conor McGregor's UFC comeback aspirations: "Is already a fantasy"

Conor McGregor maintains he will return to the UFC cage but Islam Makhachev has his doubts. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion has not fought inside the cage since July 2021 with McGregor sustaining a serious leg injury in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier. An injury sustained to his toe scrapped a planned return this year for the end of June against Michael Chandler.

The Irish superstar maintains he will return to the cage and UFC figurehead Dana White has been saying that MMA fans can expect him to return to the cage in 2025. It seems like the reigning UFC lightweight champion has a lot of doubts that this will happen based on what McGregor's current lifestyle seems to be.

This news first aired on MatchTV and was shared on X by @ChampRDS. In the relayed message on social media regarding a McGregor comeback, Makhachev stated:

"[Conor's return] is already a fantasy. He tries to stay afloat with his language. He is more in clubs than in training."

Check out Islam Makhachev casting doubts on Conor McGregor's octagon return below:

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Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, and where Michael Chandler fits into the picture

Conor McGregor was initially targeted to fight Michael Chandler as mentioned but that contest coming to fruition seems more uncertain than ever before. 'Iron' Michael will return to the cage a couple of days over the two-year mark as he has been waiting for the McGregor fight to be locked in.

The two men were opposing coaches on 'The Ultimate Fighter' and the UFC 303 cancellation transpired with no clear picture of when the fight could be made. The former multi-time Bellator lightweight champion seems like he can only wait for so long and will be stepping back into the cage against a familiar foe.

Chandler will collide with former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 in November. Chandler competed well early on against Oliveira in their first fight but the Brazilian combatant would finish the American wrestler with strikes early in the second stanza to claim the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 262.

Chandler has since indicated a focus on tying up his series vs. Oliveira and using it as a means to vault himself toward a fight versus Islam Makhachev.

The pound-for-pound standout has responded to Chandler's newly aligned goals by calling him unreliable and intimating that if McGregor suddenly popped up to re-book the scrapped UFC 303 bout Chandler would hop onto that leaving the UFC lightweight champion in the lurch.