A former UFC bantamweight champion believes Conor McGregor will never come back to the top level.
Earlier this month, McGregor returned to the octagon after a five-year hiatus to run it back with Max Holloway, an opponent he had beaten 13 years ago by unanimous decision despite tearing his ACL during the bout.
Before the July 11 rematch, the former UFC double champion claimed that after his half-decade rest period, he now feels like he is just entering his prime and will completely demolish Holloway once again.
However, at UFC 329, “The Notorious” got injured right away while landing a flying kick, and all his big plans were ruined. He kept falling to the ground once his right knee was busted up, which led the referee to stop the bout after just 69 seconds, with “Blessed” winning by TKO.
Earlier this week, the Irishman informed fans that he’s torn his meniscus and ACL and will have to undergo surgery. The 38-year-old expects to return by the summer of 2027 and has one last bout left on his UFC contract.
Check out Conor McGregor’s post below:
Aljamain Sterling Discusses what Conor McGregor should do and not do when he returns to the octagon again, potentially in 2027
Former UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling, while speaking to Ignition Poker, opined that Conor McGregor will never return to his prime form. “Funk Master” believes McGregor does not need to do “anything crazy” when he returns to the octagon again and should first assess if he still has the “same bounce.”
Conor McGregor has said that his next fight “has to be” against Max Holloway, but Sterling wants McGregor to face Michael Chandler, a matchup that will help the Irishman to get his confidence back, as per Sterling, and a bout that makes proper sense. He said:
“Not at the top level. I think you have to give him [Conor McGregor] a matchup that’s going to give him his confidence back, let him see where he’s at and where he can compete. He doesn’t need to do anything crazy. Just skill for skill. He doesn’t need jumping moves or spinning back kicks. Just come in, see where your hands are, see how it feels to move and pivot, see if you’ve got that same bounce, and see if you can compete with those guys. If you can’t, that’s going to be the real gauge. But you also don’t want to take the risk of losing to a relatively unknown name and then losing a potential big fight that you could have had. At the same time, do you want to have the big fight and then get really, really hurt? It depends on him. The way I would do it is to come back in a matchup that makes sense.”
Chandler and McGregor were previously going to lock horns at UFC 303 until the latter withdrew due to a toe injury. This year, when the Irishman was plotting his comeback, he still had “Iron” in his crosshairs, but the UFC had other plans.
Chandler is currently 40 years old and on a 4-fight losing skid. His most recent loss came at UFC Freedom 250, where he was knocked out by Mauricio Ruffy, a fighter whose style is often compared to McGregor’s.
During the same interview, “Funk Master” added that not only is Chandler a stylistically good matchup for Conor McGregor, but it will also help to show if “The Notorious” still has game left in him to defeat someone who is good but “not at the top of the heap.”
“I don’t want to call it a tune-up fight because all these guys are tough, but get a matchup that makes sense. I always said he should have come back and fought Chandler. That would have made more sense. Stylistically, it’s good. Chandler isn’t going to wrestle him. He’s going to stand with him and want to make it entertaining. Then you have an opportunity to see if Conor is good enough to beat a guy like Chandler, who is good, but he’s not at the top of the heap anymore at 155 or even 170, because I think Chandler said he wants to move up.”
Next up, “Funk Master” added that McGregor may not be “Mystic Mac” anymore, but he’s still Conor McGregor. The 36-year-old also named a few opponents “The Notorious” can potentially face down the line, dubbing the matchups as “fun fights.”
“The possibilities for McGregor are endless. He may not be Mystic Mac anymore, but he’s still Conor McGregor. People are going to tune in because they want to watch him and see what he’s doing next. He’s always going to have that aura and enigma about him. But the prospect who came in, starching everybody and calling his shots, those days are probably done. If he can have one good fight, he can maybe turn back the clock a little bit, but it depends on how he looks in the performance.
There’s Nate Diaz, there’s Jorge Masvidal, and there are so many good matchups. He could even fight Jake Paul. There are fun fights for him on the horizon. It just depends on whether the UFC gives him that fight sooner rather than later.”
Lastly, the No. 4 UFC featherweight contender offered some advice to Conor McGregor before the latter attempts another comeback following knee surgery and rehabilitation. Sterling said:
“Now, with this injury, he’s [Conor McGregor] probably going to have to undergo surgery. That’s at least six months. I’ve seen guys come back in six months, so that’s the minimum before he could come back and have confidence in it again. I don’t know what that looks like, but he’s going to need to do a lot to strengthen those ligaments on both knees because I believe it was the other one that popped this time, if I’m correct. He needs to make sure he balances that out and does everything he needs to get back into somewhat prime form for competition, not just training. It’s one thing to fight and another thing to just be training.”
