Chael Sonnen Claims Conor McGregor’s Pull Out from Michael Chandler Fight Was the Moment His UFC Career Ended

Chael Sonnen agrees that having Conor McGregor around in the UFC is “fun”. However, he is not particularly sure whether the former champion has a future in the promotion, especially after the Michael Chandler saga, and his pullout from UFC 303.

“The sport is more fun with Conor around, but no, we can’t get him in the ring. When Conor pulled out of the fight with Chandler, it was akin to saying, ‘I’m retired.’ Whether he knows it or not, his career ended at that moment,” said Sonnen on the latest episode of the Good Guy/Bad Guy show on YouTube.

Fans have been speculating about McGregor’s return to the octagon. However, Sonnen’s comments reflect a growing sentiment in the MMA world that the UFC may have seen the last of The Notorious.

Whether McGregor officially announces his retirement or not, the way he has been looking beyond the UFC for his next bout reiterates Sonnen’s belief.

Sure, the UFC President Dana White has stated that fans would get to see McGregor back inside the octagon in 2025. But the Irish fighter recently announced he was headed to India to fight Logan Paul in a boxing match for $250 million.

❤️ https://t.co/oz7jZg3Ts9

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 29, 2024

However, Sonnen doesn’t think McGregor is even fighting Logan.

Sonnen’s take on the supposed McGregor vs. Paul fight

On his You’re Welcome podcast, Sonnen recently claimed that McGregor’s boxing ambitions were pipe dreams.

While brushing aside the $250 million prize purse, he pointed out that the biggest stars in boxing don’t get paid more than $40-$60 million for a fight. So, it is highly unlikely that an MMA star, who has clearly seen better days, and a YouTuber-WWE personality would get a quarter of a billion dollars for a boxing bout in Mumbai.

Both fighters are under contract with Dana White’s UFC and its parent company, TKO. Sonnen believes they would not be allowed to step outside those agreements for a crossover fight.

Besides, logistical hurdles make this matchup impossible.“They’re not even similar weight classes,” added Sonnen.

However, Chael might be way off the mark on this one. McGregor had earlier claimed that the fight was being staged at the behest of the billionaire Ambani family from India.

The Ambanis, one of the wealthiest on the planet, have been getting celebrities to attend personal events in India. They had the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna perform at their children’s weddings.

So, to have McGregor and Logan duke it out at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai doesn’t seem too much of a stretch for them.