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Conor McGregor doesn’t need to fight.
It’s been pretty well documented that the former two-division UFC champion is wealthy enough to live 10 more lifetimes without ever needing another dime to his bank account yet he’s still coming back to coach the new season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will then lead to a showdown against Michael Chandler.
By the time McGregor fights again, more than two years will have passed since he last competed and this will be just the latest in a long line of layoffs he’s experienced since pausing his MMA career to pursue a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
If McGregor falls to Chandler, that would also serve as his third loss in a row and drop his record to 1-4 in his past five fights, which dates back nearly five years. That’s why UFC welterweight Matt Brown can’t help but wonder if one more loss might signify the end of McGregor’s run in the sport.
“I have a hard time seeing [Conor] fighting again if he comes back and he loses, especially a bad loss like that,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “He doesn’t have any reason to [fight again]. He’s coming back because he loves fighting and he wants to put on a show and he wants to be a champion again, I’m sure.
“I can’t imagine him having the motivation to fight again if he comes back and gets knocked out by Michael Chandler.”
Brown admits that he’s admired McGregor and his fighting ability over the years, which is why he expects the Irish superstar to pour everything into his training and preparation to get ready for Chandler.
What concerns him most, however, is that McGregor has missed so much time in recent years and he’s coming back from a devastating injury after suffering a broken leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier back in 2021.
“I expect Conor to come back strong,” Brown explained. “I think he’s going to look great. I’m excited to see Conor again actually. I know he’s gotten really big here the past few years and he’s been out of the USADA pool and all of that’s going to be advantageous for him.
“The only thing is he hasn’t fought. We all talk about ring rust all the time. Some people say it’s not real, some say it is and there’s different debates and opinions on that but when you’re out as long as Conor’s been out, dealing with what he’s been going through and then he came back after a long layoff. He’s just been so inactive the past few years. Chandler’s been very active so he’s going to have a huge advantage straight up off of that.”
Brown argues that even McGregor’s drawing power likely takes a hit if he loses to Chandler because at some point paying customers will begin to lose interest.
“I think he loses some dollar value there, too, to be honest,” Brown said. “He’s always been the red panty night guy. He’s the money fight. He comes back and loses again, I don’t see his dollar value being quite as high.”
The other problem McGregor could face with another loss would be the lack of opposition worthy of his attention that would also drum up interest for a major pay-per-view broadcast.
It’s been well documented that McGregor earns a hefty payday whenever he competes but if he loses to Chandler, the biggest matchup likely available to him would be a trilogy against past foe Nate Diaz — and he’s no longer on the UFC roster.
“If he comes back and loses to Chandler does Nate [Diaz] even care about that fight now?” Brown said. “He’s got way too many options even if he signs back with the UFC. He’s got a lot of options for big fights. Now he’s the money guy, too. He doesn’t need Conor as much as he did before.
“Now Conor would be needing him so maybe he takes the fight but I don’t think he needs that fight to be honest, if Conor’s coming off another loss.”
In a straight up fight without any outside factors playing a part, Brown is fully confident that McGregor would beat Chandler but this matchup isn’t happening in a vacuum.
Instead, McGregor will be competing for the first time in over two years against a savage in Chandler, who has no problem taking a punch to give one back, and that might just spell disaster for “The Notorious.”
“If Conor was active, I would probably favor him pretty heavily in this fight,” Brown said. “With him being so inactive, I think that evens things out a lot with Chandler being so active and Chandler’s rocked everybody he’s fought in the UFC. Wins or lose, he rocks you and he’s probably learning from those lessons and getting better at it.
“I think if [Chandler] does that, he uses that experience to his advantage, this might be his fight and we don’t see Conor again. He might send Conor into retirement.”
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