“I would wish to be the bare-knuckle world champion,” Conor McGregor hinted at his return to the fighting world at the press conference for BKFC Italy. It wasn’t just about the desire to fight in the BKFC that had the fighting world excited. But it was his plan to conquer the lightweight or welterweight belt that showered the world with hope. However, there were a handful of issues lying around to prevent his epic comeback into the world of sanctioned fighting. 

First, it’s his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. ‘The Notorious’ still has 2 fights left in his UFC contract. The last time he was about to make his return and fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303, he was forced to pull out because of a broken pinky toe. Secondly, he apparently hasn’t tested himself for quite some time. This is in stark contrast to 2024 where he was the most tested athlete, with 11 sessions, tied with Arman Tsarukyan.

Backyard Violence, on 17 February 2025, shared a picture of the former UFC double champion on Instagram, and captioned the picture, “Hasn’t register a drug test for the UFC in 5 months.” Needless to say, going untested for so long meant that he wasn’t going to fight anytime soon. Nevertheless, the heart that ‘Mystic Mac’ showed in his speech at the press conference had the fighting world excited. He said, “If you think I’m up here giving these speeches and leading these men into battle and I won’t step in there myself, think again. For sure, Conor McGregor will fight in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, mark my words.”

But all of that excitement seemingly went into oblivion as Backyard Violence’s Instagram post went viral. Soon, the fight fans took over the comments section to reveal their thoughts. And most of them worried that McGregor was going to retire. Let’s see what the fighting community had to say.

Is retirement the next option for Conor McGregor?

Most of the fans believed that there was no way ‘The Notorious’ wanted to fight after being untested for about 5 months. Hence, the fighting community claimed that it was another marker of Conor McGregor’s retirement. One fan commented, “Bro is done!” Another fan wrote, “Just retire bro.” Some of the fans even dragged the rumors of McGregor being juiced to the gills into the conversation. A comment read, “He’s too juiced he’s gonna have to retire.”

A few others suggested that the big guns should put ‘The Notorious’ against surging lightweights like Mauricio Ruffy or Joel Alvarez. One of the comments read, “They don’t really care about him anymore after they get the new TV deal they’re feeding him a ruffy or an Alvarez.” Now, it’s hard to see the UFC putting McGregor in anything other than a high-profile fight. Neither will the Irishman want to be cannon fodder for upcoming hungry lightweights. But many fans wanted him to fight regardless of his drug test registration status. One fan wrote, “Who cares. Let him fight.”

Another fan compared his storyline with Paulo Costa and Yoel Romero. The comment read, “So Paulo Costa and Romero can be as juiced as they want but conor can’t cause he’s more notorious?” Meanwhile, one more fan commented, “Who cares. He’s not a fighter anymore. He’s stinking f——- rich.. he can do whatever the f—- he wants. Get over it.” 

Nevertheless, some of the fans believed that there was still some time left for the former champ-champ to get himself tested. After all, Dana White had claimed that ‘Mystic Mac’ would make his comeback in late 2025, even though he wasn’t certain about the return. A fan pointed at this and commented, “Dana said end of 25 so he got time.”

What are your thoughts on McGregor’s failure to test himself in the last 5 months? Do you think he will return anytime soon? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.