CONOR MCGREGOR is currently “going through a mid-life crisis” that will derail his long-awaited return to the octagon, a UFC lightweight has claimed.
The UFC‘s poster boy hasn’t set foot inside the cage since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier nearly two-and-a-half years ago but has been matched up against Michael Chandler for his comeback fight.
But his eagerly-anticipated return, which was announced in February, has been overshadowed by his absence from the USADA drug testing pool and his partying ways.
And nothing the Irishman has shown on social media or said in recent interviews has convinced fellow lightweight Grant Dawson that he will in fact fight again.
“I don’t think he’s coming back,” the No.10-ranked Dawson told MMA Fighting. “I don’t think he’s fighting.
“I think he’s going through a mid-life crisis right now.”
Dawson, 29, believes McGregor has struggled mentally without fighting, so much so that he reckons he’s questioning his “purpose” in life.
He continued: “We’re going kind of deep here but the thing that makes people happy isn’t chasing happiness, it’s chasing purpose.
“Conor used to have a purpose, and I believe Conor doesn’t have a purpose anymore, and that’s why his life is kind of going to s***.
“He just doesn’t know what he wants to do. He doesn’t need to do anything. He doesn’t have to do anything.
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“He’s just in this point where he doesn’t know what his purpose in life is and I think that’s he’s so all over the place.
“‘Oh, I’m going to box, oh I’m going to do bare-knuckle, oh I’m going to fight Michael Chandler, oh I’m going to do The Ultimate Fighter.’
“It’s just bouncing between what he wants to do. I’m retired again, now I’m not retired again.
“I just think he needs to find some purpose outside of MMA if he really wants to be happy.”
McGregor, 35, was due to throw down with Chandler this year but the bout ended up being pushed until 2024 due to his absence from the USADA pool.
But the Dubliner hinted this week that he’s back in the pool – which he must be in for at least six months before he’s eligible to compete – writing on Instagram early on Thursday morning: “Find my targets.
“Hit them. F*** the consequences. You’re going down. This is fighting. Sparring day with slick @grozdevnikolay.
“Always a banger of a spar with the slick fella. Submitted my stuff to Novitzky.
“Ball rolling see you soon you little light work b***h.”
