Matt Brown was never fully convinced that we’d see Conor McGregor fight at UFC 303.
After nearly three years on the shelf, ‘Mystic Mac’ was primed for a long-awaited clash with former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler on June 29. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case after McGregor withdrew from the contest due to an undisclosed injury.
With uncertainty surrounding the nature of McGregor’s injury, Brown is feeling even more confident in his original belief that the Irishman would never again compete inside the Octagon.
“I was never confident before that he would [come back],” Brown said during an appearance on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “It didn’t shock me when I saw he was out of this fight. No, I’m still on that same train — he’s not ever coming back.
“I say the same thing I said before, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope I’m wrong. I would like to see Conor fight again. I would like to see him do a real training camp with real training partners, push himself hard, go back to the great Conor that he was before. I would love to see that. I think a lot of people would love to see that. It’s not happening” (h/t MMA Fighting).
Brown would love to see Conor McGregor prove him wrong, but ‘The Immortal’ feels like McGregor would be better served by making the move to boxing. Not only would he take less damage, but he’d likely bank a far bigger payday for his efforts.
“Notice I said ‘maybe he will prove me wrong,’ and I remember when you broke that news, the first thing I said is, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’” Brown said. “I said maybe he’ll prove me wrong, and that’s a maybe. I would still say the same thing. It just doesn’t make sense for him to fight again. If he’s going to fight again, it should be boxing. He doesn’t have to worry as much about the shin. I think most likely what’s going on here is the shin isn’t taking, the titanium or whatever kind of plate they put in there, isn’t taking and he’s having a hard time with it.
“It’s been three years. You shouldn’t have to recover from any injury for three years. I’m not convinced still that he’ll ever fight again with the UFC. Maybe he’ll do something else. If he does, I think it should be boxing. He’s not a bad boxer. He’s not going to compete with Floyd Mayweather ever, but he’s a decent boxer. He’s got some good matches out there, I think.”
Matt Brown can’t see why Millionaire Conor McGregor would choose to put his body on the line anymore
Aside from the devastating leg injury and father time, Brown believes money is the biggest obstacle for the Irishman.
UFC CEO Dana White has echoed a similar sentiment, noting that when you’ve got a fighter with millions in the bank and a slew of lucrative ventures outside of fighting, there’s little incentive for them to put their bodies on the line
“I’ve said it many times — why would he come back?” Brown stated. “He built a large majority of his net worth outside of the UFC. He’s already built his brand in the UFC. He doesn’t have anything to prove coming back to the UFC. Of course, it makes for a great story and his brand magnifies even more if he comes back and wins another championship. I don’t see that happening, you don’t see that happening, no one really sees that happening.
“Of course, if Conor really wants it and really secludes himself in a tough training camp and brings in some tough guys, I don’t put it past him. But how motivated are you going to be do that when you’ve got $500 million in the bank?”
Instead of seeing Conor McGregor’s quote-unquote “greatest comeback in combat sports history,” fans will be treated to a light heavyweight championship rematch as both reigning titleholder Alex Pereira and No. 1 ranked contender Jiri Prochazka step in on 16 days’ notice to run back their UFC 295 scrap.
