Conor McGregor has been missing from the Octagon for a long time. While he was scheduled to return in June against Michael Chandler, the fighter pulled out of the fight due to a toe injury. And although he teases a return from time to time by uploading videos of him sparring again, Iron has had enough and moved on to a fight against Charles Oliveira. But how is the Notorious fine with missing so much time away from the Octagon?

Well, if the words of the former Bellator and ONE champion Ben Askren are to be believed, McGregor hasn’t returned because he is ‘an addict’. A major accusation he made very recently on a podcast, and one that lightweight Dan Hooker disagrees with. In a recent interview, he revealed McGregor’s fighting intentions while advising the former double champ.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Dan Hooker shared his thoughts on the absence of Conor McGregor and his fight that fell through against Michael Chandler. According to The Hangman, the Notorious is in no way actually trying to avoid a fight. Instead, he is one of the men who is hungry for a one-on-one inside the Octagon instead. He said, “It’ll just be interesting. Like, he’s without a fight, and I know Conor’s hungry to fight.”

However, as per Hooker, it should be a different opponent than Chandler. One that helps McGregor rise in the ranks in the UFC. A fight against Chandler, despite the win, would not gain him a lot of points. “(McGregor) fight someone that he can get something from, and makes a lot of sense. That’s why I feel like Conor is kind of sitting there and waiting, and not staying active; you kind of lose… like what does he get out of beating Chandler? He knocks out Michael Chandler in the first round, and Conor McGregor doesn’t even get into the top five off of that performance. So, it stops making sense for Conor to fight Michael Chandler.”

Even in a recent BKFC backstage interview, McGregor revealed that he wishes to return to the Octagon. However, his opponent Iron decided to ditch him instead. As a result, he is waiting for Chandler to clear his schedule again. UFC CEO Dana White also revealed that Notorious won’t be fighting before 2025. But what made Ben Askren call McGregor an addict, and what exactly did he say?

Ben Askren goes all out on the Irishman

In a recent interview with Funky and the Champ podcast, Askren made the major allegation that McGregor is an addict and the reason behind him not returning to the UFC is because he’s too busy partying. He even accused the UFC of knowing about the issue but refusing to take action against it. Why? Because McGregor is a major name for the promotion.

He said, “It’s pretty obvious to me that Conor McGregor is an addict. He is charismatic enough, rich enough that it doesn’t really have a hugely negative impact on his life, so everyone kind of lets him do what he wants to do. This guy is clearly out partying, can’t show up for a training camp, and because he can’t show up at training camp, he can’t get ready to fight.” Askren further accused the Irishman of also using dr*gs.

This is no news that the ex-champ loves to part and has been keeping busy with his successful business ventures and even a budding Hollywood career. The last time McGregor fought was back in 2021, in a match against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, where he ended up breaking his leg. Three years and several canceled bouts later, his return still remains a mystery, or may be not if you agree with Askern.

What do you think? Do you believe in Askren’s accusations? Let us know in the comments.