Chael Sonnen Praises ‘Humbled’ Conor McGregor for Refraining Main Event Spotlight Amid UFC Return Struggles

Conor McGregor has crossed the final hurdle before shifting all of his focus on returning to the UFC. Over the past few weeks, McGregor was in the midst of a promotional tour for his upcoming movie ‘RoadHouse’. McGregor stated that once he was done with all his duties, he would get back home and focus on training and getting a date from the UFC. ‘The Notorious’ said quite a few things regarding his return. However, one particular statement gave Chael Sonnen an extremely positive feeling about McGregor’s return.

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen dissected the MMA landscape in the recent episode of their weekly show, ‘Good Guy / Bad Guy’ on ESPN MMA. During the show, Sonnen spoke about McGregor’s return. He shared his thoughts on the approach McGregor is taking ahead of his return and explained why he thinks that will help the former champion. He said,

“Yes if Conor was going to take on a full schedule, he was calling out two and three guys. He understands this is a contender’s match. I liked when he said I want to get my feet wet. I want to go three rounds. That is the responsible thing to do. It does not work that way in this sport, it’s not like amateur sports where you can control that. But I liked that he had the mindset. I thought he stayed youthful and I thought he really humbled himself.”

‘The Notorious’ admitted in recent interviews that time away from the sport will be a factor to consider as he makes his return. The former champion stated that although he does not think the fight with Chandler will go the distance, he would be happy if it did as it would give him more fight time to get his body used to. However, even amidst the hype of his return, McGregor revealed something about his contract that might make his fans concerned.

Conor McGregor reveals a key detail about his UFC contract

A lot of the talk this week has been about the UFC freezing out Conor McGregor from a return. However, fans may have missed a key detail about his UFC contract revealed by Conor McGregor himself. He stated in a recent interview that he has only two fights left on his UFC contract.

Conor McGregor says that “negotiations are ongoing” with the #UFC for his return.

“I’m eager for [my return]. We’re in the first quarter of 2024, there’s still a good chunk of the year left. I’ve got 2 fights left on my contract, negotiations are ongoing.”

@moviezine #UFC… pic.twitter.com/WSmiic23c1

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 16, 2024

This means that there is a very realistic possibility that McGregor could be a free agent by the end of the year if he fights twice this year. If McGregor decides not to renew, Dana White and his team will be losing out on their biggest star. Needless to say, the UFC brass will be working tirelessly behind the scenes to retain McGregor.