Conor McGregor continues to give fight fans mixed signals regarding his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
Last month, McGregor was found liable for the rape of Nikita Hand at a Dublin hotel in 2018. The UFC star was ordered to pay the victim more than $250,000 in damages plus a million dollars in legal fees, but McGregor’s financial woes didn’t stop there.
In the ensuing weeks, McGregor was dropped by Proper No. 12 as a spokesman, and retailers throughout the UK and Ireland stopped selling any products associated with McGregor i.e. his Forged Irish Stout. As a result, McGregor could reportedly lose $5-10 million per month.
So, of course, it should come as no surprise that the Irish megastar is once again teasing a return to the Octagon. During a recent exchange on X, McGregor claimed to have had a conversation with UFC CEO Dana White about rebooking his previously scheduled clash with former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.
Interestingly, McGregor’s back-and-forth with Chandler came shortly after he posted a gif from the movie Braveheart where Mel Gibson’s character famously yells the line, ‘Freedom.’ Many took that as McGregor once again expressing his desire to be free from the shackles of his UFC contract.
As usual, Dana White played the whole thing aloof when asked about McGregor potentially fighting under the UFC banner again.
“He hasn’t been fighting here in, I don’t know how long,” White said during the UFC 310 post-fight press conference. “Well, if he does fight, it’ll be sometime next year.”
Is Conor McGregor moving back to the U.S. following Civil Suit fallout
With the fallout stemming from his civil suit, McGregor is reportedly considering a move back to the United States where he still has strong support from fans. According to one source per the Irish Mirror:
“Conor has been completely rattled by the devastating fallout as a result of losing the civil case. He is going to appeal the verdict to clear his name. He is genuinely very upset by it all and the manner in which he feels he has been betrayed. But the commercial damage in Britain and Ireland has been massive with retailers refusing to sell his stout and Proper No 12 whiskey.
“However, the court case has not been as damaging commercially in the United States where most of his fans are standing by him. He wants out of Ireland for the moment and to move back to the States.”
