Daniel Cormier questions whether Conor McGregor ever fights again after UFC 303 withdrawal

Daniel Cormier wonders if Conor McGregor will ever fight again.

After weeks of rumors, UFC finally announced on Thursday that Conor McGregor is out of his planned UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler due to injury. Instead, UFC put together a short-notice main event between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka, and the McGregor vs. Chandler bout is still being targeted for later this year. But with this latest setback, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is starting to lose hope that we’ll ever see McGregor back inside the cage.

“Ben Askren said … he thinks it’s over for Conor McGregor,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “He doesn’t believe that we’ll ever see Conor fight again. I was trying to disagree with him, but now that it’s a reality, it’s very worrisome. I don’t know what my thoughts are about his fighting future. Especially knowing what his life looks like outside of fighting. This guy lives the biggest life in the world. He lives a life that’s so extravagant, that’s so fun, that’s so filled with adventure and other things, I don’t know [that] people could blame him if he wants to walk away from this.

“You’ve got to think and weigh your two options of life. One, be on yachts, boats, parties, having all the fun in the world, now you’re an actor. Or, spend months and months at a time in a gym preparing to fight absolute killers. Ask yourself, as a human being, what would you choose? Most of you would choose option A, where you’re not sweating as much, and if you’re sweating, you’re jumping into oceans right after to cool down. You’re eating caviar and the most expensive food in the world. Or you’re in the gym every single day fighting. Most people would not even look at option B.”

McGregor has not fought since shattering his leg at UFC 265 in July of 2021. McGregor has been adamant that he will return to UFC at some point, but he’s also focused on other endeavors over the past three years, most famously playing opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the remake of Road House. And with other demands on his time, Cormier wonders whether “Notorious” will simply decide that enough is enough.

“I thought Conor McGregor was going to come back because, to me, Conor McGregor is a fighter,” Cormier said. “But I’m starting to think — I know skill for skill, the Conor McGregor of 2015 isn’t the same guy. But I thought that the star was still the same. I just don’t know that he wants to fight, especially right now.

“They said this thing might get rescheduled for later in the year, hopefully. But I think most people are very skeptical that we will see Conor McGregor in 2024. And if we don’t, the more time that passes, the less likely it is that he ever steps in the octagon again.”

McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303 doesn’t just effect him, though; arguably, Michael Chandler is hurt the most by all this. Chandler has been out of action for more than 18 months waiting on McGregor to come back, and with that now looking less likely than ever, Cormier believes it’s time for Chandler to give up on this pipe dream.

“Michael Chandler still needs to fight,” Cormier said. “Michael Chandler, it seems like he needs Conor McGregor, but I don’t know that he does. Because when you talk to Mike, his goals have not changed. He still wants to be world champion. I don’t know that even if he wins, if this fight moves him closer to being world champion. He’s got some options, he’s got some things to weigh going forward, because I don’t know that he should wait anymore. I think it’s time to move off of this.”

UFC 303 takes place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.