Conor McGregor has once again teased a return to the UFC, but fans are not convinced that the Irishman will ever step foot inside the Octagon again
Conor McGregor has seemingly confused fans regarding his latest message amid talks of a potential return to the UFC.
The former dual-weight UFC champion has been ramping up training recently, hinting that he’s gearing up for another fight inside the octagon. Earlier this week, the ‘Notorious’ shared clips of himself powering through 10 rounds on the pads.
It seems the training has reignited McGregor’s fighting spirit. The MMA icon hasn’t stepped into the ring since his defeat by Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. He was set to face Michael Chandler last year but had to withdraw due to an injury sustained while preparing. In a recent story uploaded to his official Instagram page, fans have been left scratching their heads about the cryptic message.
McGregor shared one of his recent quotes praising the promotion and captioning it: “Call that big butt nurse”. This could imply this is own way of calling on drug-testing to resume. Last June, it was revealed that 2154 samples had been collected so far in 2024, while 675 fighters have been tested to date. Despite the inactivity, nobody at the time had been tested more than McGregor. The Irishman was tested a grand total of 10 times by the UFC Anti-Doping Program (UFC ADP) since the start of 2024.
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As of May 9 2025, 1400 total UFC ADP samples have been collected – but McGregor’s name doesn’t feature. As well as the bizarre caption on Instagram, the ‘Notorious’ tagged both Dana White and TKO Group. Another post shows a throwback video of White introducing McGregor at a press conference, captioned with a direct plea: “Let’s get this show started @ufc.”
While some fans might be eager for the return of the Irish fighter, there are many who remain unconvinced. “I do not believe it until he is in the octagon,” declared one fan. Another added: “Were gonna get GTA 6 before Connor’s return I bet.” A third fan expressed: “I don’t care anymore I just don’t believe he will ever step in the octagon again, every week he says he’s returning.”
Another replied: “I’ll believe it when I see it,” while another bluntly asserted: “It’s over for him.” Another user suggested: “This dude probably loses to Moicano right now. He’s not coming back it’s just a way to stay relevant. No man comes back after a devastating leg break like that and 3 years off and still looks good.”
Back in March, McGregor hinted that he may be done with the UFC after stating that he was happy with everything he had accomplished inside the cage. “I’ve got two fights on the contract, I’m in negotiations,” he said at a BKFC event. “Last week something happened to me, I went to the White House and my heart bleeds for my country right now. So there’s a lot of stuff going on back home, I’m happy with what I’ve done. There’s something else for me that’s in my gut right now and that’s kind of where I’m going.”
That said, just moments later, when asked if he could fight and be president at the same time, the Irishman gave a quick response, replying: “F*****g right I will, of course, are you crazy? That’s part of why I want to do it! To be announced as the President of Ireland while having a fight? Imagine that. But for sure, hell yeah, hell yes.”