Former two-weight UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen has explained why the company should never promote another Conor McGregor fight – even if ‘The Notorious’ insists that he’s ready to return to the Octagon. The Irish superstar hasn’t fought since losing to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, despite being advertised for a showdown with Michael Chandler at last June’s UFC 303.
McGregor pulled out of that contest on short notice, citing a broken toe. However, Sonnen doesn’t believe that the injury was serious enough to justify McGregor’s withdrawal – at least on the evidence provided.
During a recent appearance on the Ariel Helwani show, Sonnen insisted that he doesn’t expect to see the 36-year-old back in action and used the failed Chandler fight to explain his reasoning.
Chael Sonnen Explains Why the UFC Can’t Risk Booking Conor McGregor in Another Fight
‘The Notorious’ hasn’t fought for nearly four years
“He pulled out of his last fight, which was a record gate. He beat all of his own gate records. They had $25million (£20m) waiting for them on the live gate and still had $2million (£1.6m) worth of tickets to sell,” began Sonnen. McGregor also pulled out of a homecoming press conference in Dublin on just hours notice, disappointing thousands of Irish fans in the process, which also concerned Chael.
“He pulled out of a press conference where they took an American company to Ireland, played the game like everybody had set up shop. I mean, it’s a big deal to leave them hanging right there.” Sonnen then moved on to discussing the Irishman’s alleged ‘broken toe’.
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The former two-division champion took to social media to show off his injury.
“He didn’t take a picture of himself with the toe. He took a picture of a toe and posted it online. It was discoloured red and purple and I’m sure it was very sore. But with no evidence that it was broken, or even any evidence that it was even his. If you pull out of a fight because of a discoloured pinky toe that may or may not be yours, that may or may not be broken, you’re not fighting again. It’s just the truth.”
UFC CEO Dana White has been one of McGregor’s biggest supporters over the years, but even he has recently cast doubt on whether the promotion’s biggest ever star will fight again. The Irishman has been the subject of a significant amount of negative press in recent months, but his star power is still such that the promotion would have to book him in a five-round main event – something Sonnen doesn’t believe he’s proven that he is ready for.
|
Conor McGregor’s professional MMA record (as of 07/02/25) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
28 fights |
22 wins |
6 losses |
|
By knockout |
19 |
2 |
|
By submission |
1 |
4 |
|
By decision |
2 |
0 |
“We are not booking him for three-round fights. We’re booking him exclusively for five-round main events. So, he is going to have to perform at a much higher level… the laws of logic disqualify that.
“The basic rule is protect yourself at all times. Conor McGregor is not in a position with anybody under contract with the UFC to protect himself at all times. It’s a silly proposition. If you’re talking about any level of responsibility, you can’t book him, and you definitely can’t book him in a five-round fight. That’s insane.”
Although nobody officially tied to the UFC is likely to publicly back Sonnen’s comments, they are hard to argue with. McGregor is currently 10-4 in his UFC career. It remains to be seen if the promotion will ever again run the risk of allowing him the chance to add to that tally.
