“I’ve been kept from my living for 3 years now,” Conor McGregor had lamented in October last year, after an ill-fated showdown against Dustin Poirier in UFC 264 ended up with his leg snapped in two, in 2021. Countless promises, callouts, misdemeanors and quietly falling off Forbes’ graces later, UFC’s biggest superstar is yet to make a return. The promotion piqued fans’ interest when the Irishman had made his return on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler in early 2023, with a second—and bigger—announcement indicating a fight against Chandler “some time in 2023”,

And then, after months of silence from The Notorious—during which he mostly teased fights against everybody while ignoring Iron and even wished to move to boxing and WWE—came an ambitious three-fight plan in August. “Chandler next in December, and then Gaethje, BMF, and then we’ll do the Nate trilogy.”

December 31: Mystic Mac finally gave everyone what they were waiting for. “I’d like to announce the return date for myself, the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor. The greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas for International Fight Week, June 29. And the opponent, Michael Chandler. And the weight, Mr. Chandler … 185 pounds,” he said in a video. A full 904 days later, he was set to make his return…until…

On June 14, Dana White took to Twitter to announce McGregor was “out..with an injury”—an expected move after a press conference was cancelled just the week before. Instead, Michael Chandler found a new opponent in Charles Oliverira (UFC 309 on November 17). This led Daniel Cormier to ask the big question to Ben Askren. During a conversation that aired on Cormier’s YouTube channel, the host asked, “What do you think happened? What do you think moved Mike off of his stance that he was waiting for Conor McGregor?”, earning the former welterweight UFC star’s wrath.

“It’s pretty obvious to me that Conor McGregor is an addict, and he’s 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. But it’s like, This guy clearly is out partying, can’t show up for a training camp, and then because he can’t show up for a training camp, he can’t get ready to fight,” he accused, another layer to the ongoing controversy.

For the unversed: In July this year, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley had accused the Irish star of being a “dr*g addict” who needs rehabilitation, having a “sh*t cardio” and being “mentally weak”. However, after UFC legend Chael Sonnen had also leveled the same accusations against the 36-year-old after his UFC 303 pullout, McGregor had launched a fiery response whilst sharing three pictures of his broken pinky toe. But the allegations don’t end here. But we’ll get to that later…

As for Askren’s theory, when Cormier asked to clarify whether McGregor was addicted to dr*gs or alc*hol, the Olympic wrestler replied, “I don’t know that I can make any pronouncements without actually having to see him do it, but I’ve watched enough videos to know that this guy’s out of control. He’s partying constantly, and from all rumors, he’s on multiple substances.” He even asked McGregor to do whatever he wished to do with his life, while mentioning how annoying dragging a fight for two years is.

The ONE Welterweight Champion further claimed that he’s been asking Chandler to move on for the past two years. But for Chandler, he isn’t pissed at his opponent, but rather the UFC for dragging him along for so long. Speaking to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin, the 38-year-old said,  “I don’t blame him for anything, I really don’t…At any given time I could’ve jumped off the train and said, ‘UFC, let me fight someone else.’ At any given time I could’ve said I am done with this. At any given time I could’ve said not to the obligations and just changed course. I put myself in this position.” Notably, Chandler had not entered the Octagon since UFC 281, as he had been waiting for the return of McGregor, until the Oliveira bout came along.

It’ll be interesting to see how McGregor plans his return and especially, how he tackles the addiction accusations resounding throughout the industry.

When Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager claimed Conor McGregor likes dr*gs

Back in 2021, The Notorious gained real notoriety for his messages to Dustin Poirier. The messages were related to the passing away of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of Khabib Nurmagomedov. This led many, such as Daniel Cormier, to call out McGregor for his distasteful actions. However, some serious words were shared by Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of the Eagle.

Abdelaziz claimed that McGregor is no longer a serious MMA fighter. Instead, he needs to fix his life since he has gotten a liking for drugs. Something that makes him want to avoid being inside the Octagon. Not just that, he even asked the Irishman to join a rehabilitation center. “Brother, Conor is not even a high-level fighter anymore. He likes drugs again. He needs to go to rehab and work on his life. He doesn’t need to fight anymore. He must go to rehabilitation.” 

Well, it seems like McGregor really needs to work on himself now. Especially after videos of him being drunk and acting like a bartender are making rounds on the internet. What do you think? Do you believe in Askren’s claims? Let us know in the comments.