UFC 239 marks the return (we think) of Conor McGregor to the Octagon. It’s been almost 5 years since McGregor stepped into the Octagon. His last fight, he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier followed by one of the worst post-Octagon interview ever.
The recovery was documented in a Netflix series looking at his recovery. Recently, it was revealed that he used banned substances (if he was in the UFC drug testing protocol) to recover. While that investigation is ongoing, the recovery took time. And, the lengthy wait was supposed to end last June with a fight against Michael Chandler. But, a broken toe ended that dream and the former two-time champ was sidelined yet again.
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Since his last Octagon visit, McGregor has had a spate of legal troubles including being found civilly liable for sexual misconduct in an Irish court. There is also an investigation of accusations of misconduct at a Miami Heat game that remains open.
He’s also had a failed run as President of Ireland and aligning himself with the current president of the United States running on an anti-immigrant campaign.
Conor has kept his toes in the combat sports world with an investment in Bare Knuckle Fighting and even stepped in to square off with Mike Perry (see below) to hype the upstart organization. Although it may be some years before it comes to fruition, Bare Knuckle Fighting seems like something he will fall back on after his UFC days are over.
At 37, its unclear if McGregor can rekindle his athletic prowess, punching power and intimidation of 10 years ago. When McGregor burst on the scene in the UFC he was a braggart that proved himself. Perhaps the full circle will be closed on Saturday as his first fight against Max Holloway was one of his first big wins in the UFC. You may recall that McGregor tore his ACL in that encounter in Boston. Despite that time off, fans clamored to see his return
For me, the UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston was a success despite McGregor’s injury. The behind the scenes vlogs featuring McGregor introduced the UFC to the former plumber’s apprentice that lived on government assistance. You got a glimpse of his thinking as he was signing autographs for fans he knew that would turn around and sell it. It was an endearing look into McGregor (at the time) and you could understand why people gravitated toward him.
It was just his second fight in the UFC and the powers that be were pushing him since he had the gift of gab and could back it up.
McGregor’s fame also came with a multitude of problems ranging from throwing Monster Energy drinks cans at Nate Diaz or a hand truck at a bus. There was the subsequent melee in the Octagon at UFC 229 which left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth as McGregor was outmatched by Khabib Nurmogomedov and he lashed out at him and his corner.
At his peak, McGregor brought the best out of the UFC and its fans. But after his foray into boxing against Floyd Mayweather, his aura seemed to be on the decline. No longer was he the vaunted fighter. The money and the fame got to McGregor and he could not recover.from it. The hunger to be the best was achieved and it became clear that his desire to train and work in the gym was hampered by outside interests and the fame that came with his success.
One thing is for certain, while his mental feel for combat sports is still there, his physical acuity is not. He has the proverbial “ring rust” and there’s no real video evidence that he’s turned the clock back.
The only thing that fans are hoping is that McGregor will actually return and not pull out of Saturday’s fight. McGregor has been silent the beginning of fight week and he has not been featured in the first two episodes of UFC Embedded which caused internet sleuthing to raise concern thet McGregor would back out in the last minute.
The UFC believes he’s still a draw. Fans still think he’s a draw. Regardless of the out of Octagon issues, McGregor still maintains a core group of fans that remember 2013 and his strut. On Friday, CBS will have a the ceremonial weigh-ins on network television with McGregor as the featured centerpiece. Even, the much-heralded UFC White House event did not have a network presence.
It will not be surprising to see a spike in Paramount viewership on Saturday night to seen McGregor’s return. Like most combat sports fans, people are interested in comebacks. Despite his advanced aged, 38 million concurrent viewers tuned in to watch Mike Tyson face Jake Paul.
No one will know what to expect out of McGregor, but most hope his aura returns.
Originally posted on Patreon.
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