The atmosphere was electric at Wembley Stadium. The main event fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, despite its massive upset, on September 21 lived up to its billing. Even the undercard fights were exciting, and the fans went home thoroughly entertained. Additionally, a Riyadh Season fight card meant that the marquee event was graced not just by boxing royalty, but by celebrities all around the world.

The Saudi event saw many boxing stars like two-time undisputed champion Terence Crawford, former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, and veteran British filmmaker Guy Ritchie enjoying themselves thoroughly along with the 96,000 cheering fans. They got to witness Joshua succumb to a shock defeat against defending world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois who battered him pillar to post throughout the fight, eventually knocking him out cold in the fifth round.

Moreover, there was another big presence at the boxing event—the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor swaggered into the event in a light gray suit, a pair of Versace glasses, and an unlit cigar in his mouth, as he lapped up the applause from the audience sitting ringside at the event. Furthermore, he was also capitalizing on all the photo opportunities that were presenting itself at the event.  Especially when it involved the most sought-after matchmaker in town—the Riyadh Season architect, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.

At one such moment during the event, Crawford, Usyk, Fury, McGregor, and Guy Ritchie, who had directed the promo for the event, all huddled together next to Alalshikh for a picture. The picture was also shared by HE Turki Alalshikh, who captioned the photo, “The Legends … The Director Guy Ritchie, and the fighters Conor McGregor, Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.” Moreover, Fight Hub TV too captured the meeting in their frame, the clip of which they shared on Instagram.

It was quite intriguing to see the UFC superstar at the high-profile combat sports event, despite his prolonged absence from the Octagon after suffering a leg injury in his last bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Additionally, his highly anticipated comeback this year against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 was derailed by a toe injury.

Beyond that, Conor McGregor’s off-ring antics and controversies have alienated a portion of the combat sports fanbase. A segment of the combat sports community, boxing fans in particular, were particularly outspoken when McGregor appeared at the event, posing with boxing stars who unlike him remain actively involved in the professional circuit. They decided to point out their displeasure in the comment section of the post by Fight Hub TV.

Fans: Who the f_k is that?

One fan felt that HE Turki Alalshikh was probably tired of watching McGregor at these marquee boxing events produced by the Riyadh Season. They commented, “Sheikh, turkey He’s tired of seeing Connor in every boxing match. Every time He turn around. There is Connor Standing drunk behind him” Notably, Conor McGregor was also present ringside at the Day of Reckoning event in Saudi Arabia last year, which had Anthony Joshua fighting Otto Wallin in the main event.

Meanwhile, another fan claimed that McGregor was desperate for Turki Alalshikh to help him revive his UFC career. This may be why Notorious was seen rubbing shoulders with them. They wrote, “Connor is like where are you going Sheikh I am with you.” However, judging from his seats looks like Conor McGregor might have been personally invited to the event by the Royal Adviser.

One fan called Conor McGregor “embarrassing” for desperately trying to stay relevant by attending these mega boxing events. They remarked, ” Connor is so irrelevant it’s embarrassing.” The UFC fanbase is now getting increasingly frustrated with the ‘double champ’ as they see no seriousness in his motive to return to the Octagon despite multiple promises.

Another fan was of the opinion that most combat sports athletes were at the venue in an effort to get on the good side of the Adviser to the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia as doing so may get them closer to a feature in an event organized by the Saudis. They stated, “Everybody wants that Arab money.” Well, the Saudi Arabian boxing powerbroker has offered exciting fight cards to fans like ‘Ring of Fire’, ‘5 vs 5’, and Noche UFC. Therefore, it is not surprising that these athletes want to be on his good side.

A fan pointed out that Terence Crawford is the latest addition to a list of boxing stars who have hitched a ride on the Turki Alalshikh hype train. They stated, “Why Bud running around with Turki like he the sidekick now.” Crawford was also sitting alongside HE at the UFC 306 event.

Safe to say, Conor McGregor needs to make a return to the Octagon and deliver exciting performances to get into the good book of MMA fans once again. The more time he spends out of action, the more he incurs their wrath.

When do you think Conor McGregor should make his return to the cage and against who? Let us know in the comment section below.