Conor McGregor’s future in the Octagon remains bleak according to several MMA experts following his brief return from injury at UFC 329. Given that context, Sean O’Malley’s trainer Tim Welch believes the former two-division champion is better off walking away.
McGregor’s comeback lasted just 69 seconds before a serious knee injury abruptly ended his rematch with Max Holloway. Although the Irishman has already confirmed that he intends to undergo surgery and return for the final fight on his current fight UFC contract, Welch isn’t convinced another return is the right move.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Welch questioned that McGregor’s body could handle it another full training camp after years of injury and inactivity:
“I don’t think so. I mean you need to prepare again. Then you try to promote that booze. That’s pretty clear. You can ask ChatGPT what drinking on a regular basis does to your ligaments, to your joints, to all that stuff. There is no one he can fight again. There is no one.”
Get the latest updates on One Championship Ratings in Sportskeeda and more
He added:
“Michael Chandler, you could do it. Diaz, you could do it. But will the UFC be willing to cough up another 10, 15, 20 million so it can happen again?… Anyone Conor fights you’re going to be excited because he’s so good on the mic. But again, in a lot of these press conferences, you could see and tell that it was a little forced on his part. He’s so good at selling these fights, he talks so well, but it was a bit forced.”
Check out Tim Welch’s comments below (11:30 p.m.):
Colby Covington believes Conor McGregor still needs one more fight
Colby Covington took a very different stance Conor McGregorpotential return to action.
The former interim welterweight champion praised McGregor’s impact on the sport, given the fact that his return generated record ticket sales and proved once again that he remains the UFC’s biggest commercial attraction. Covington also refused to criticize McGregor after the injury. In a recent interview with MMA fightsCovington said:
“Yeah, I think Conor is fighting again. He still has that passion and he still wants to compete. He’s got his last fight under his UFC contract, so I’m sure he wants to fulfill that and then see what the future holds for him. But Conor, he needs the fight. He’s really doing it to keep structure in his life, to keep things in his mind. Fighting is good for Conor, so he needs that structure.”
Edited by Abhishek Nambiar