UFC icon shares unfiltered take on Conor McGregor potentially making MMA comeback, explains why the Irishman "shouldn’t do any form of combat"

A UFC icon has shared his unfiltered take on former two-division UFC champion Conor Mcgregor’s return to the octagon.

McGregor, who remains one of the biggest names in the world of mixed martial arts, last fought at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. During the bout, the Irishman broke his leg and has not competed since, despite teasing on multiple occasions.

After The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) concluded in 2024, the Dubliner and Michael Chandler were scheduled to square off at the main event of UFC 303. However 'The Notorious' withdrew because of a toe injury.

In 2025, the Irishman teased a boxing exhibition match with Logan Paul. However, Dana White recently revealed that fans can expect the Irishman to return in late 2025 and the rumors of a boxing match aren’t true.

Meanwhile, McGregor, who is a part owner of the BKFC, recently expressed his desire to lock horns against Jeremy Stephens in a bare-knuckle fight. The Irishman also had a bad blood exchange with fellow countryman Paul Hughes and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Amid all the chaos, Chael Sonnen believes that 'The Notorious' has been out of the competition for too long and is not in a state to defend himself. 'The American Gangster' also thinks that McGregor is "not going to do MMA" any longer.

In a recent video on Sonnen's YouTube channel, he said:

“He simply is not going to do MMA, nor should he, but he also shouldn’t do any form of combat. It would not be safe for him to go into the UFC Fight Pass Invitational. It would not be safe for Conor to go into a grappling match... It would not be safe for him to go into an MMA match if the number one and golden rule is to protect yourself at all times."

He added:

“There is nobody under contract, not a top 10 guy, there is nobody under contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship that Conor could protect himself against at all times. There is nobody under contract at bare-knuckle boxing where Conor could protect himself at all times."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments about Conor McGregor (4:32):

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Michael Chandler still hopes to fight Conor McGregor

As mentioned ahead, Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor were all set to square off at UFC 303. However, McGregor withdrew from the bout because of a tie injury. In late 2024, Chandler squared off against Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 and lost the bout.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Chandler disclosed his probable future opponents, and among others, he also named 'The Notorious', saying:

"The UFC lightweight division is and always has been one of the most exciting ones of the most deep and stacked divisions. And of course, we have to mention Conor. So people can make fun of me... but we will see if he can get his house in order. As of late it doesn’t necessarily look like it but that is always a possibility sometime in the next year."

Check out Michael Chandler's comments below about Conor McGregor (13:45):