{"id":289466,"date":"2023-09-21T10:22:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T10:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=289466"},"modified":"2023-09-21T10:22:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T10:22:27","slug":"conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 after the year&#8217;s remaining fights were confirmed by Dana White&#8230; but the Irish star is expected to return to the Octagon in 2024<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Conor McGregor will not return to the UFC in 2023 as the schedule is released<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Dana White previously said the star is expected back in the Octagon next year\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Leon Edwards will defend his UFC welterweight crown against Colby Covington\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Conor McGregor will not return to the UFC in 2023, after the year&#8217;s remaining schedule was confirmed by the franchise&#8217;s CEO Dana White.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Irishman McGregor, 34, has not fought since July 2021, when he lost in the first round against Dustin Poirier\u00a0after suffering a serious leg break.<\/p>\n<p>However, he has been teasing the prospect of a comeback before the end of the calendar year, but missed the window to re-enroll in the USADA drug testing pool back in July, which made a return difficult.<\/p>\n<p>The schedule has been released without McGregor&#8217;s name, with Leon Edwards defending his UFC welterweight crown against Colby Covington among\u00a0the pick of the fights remaining in 2023.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last week, White told TV host Piers Morgan: &#8216;He [McGregor] is back in the gym. He is training and yes, I expect to see Conor fighting next year&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/21\/09\/75675599-12544035-image-a-11_1695286576864.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Conor McGregor will not return to the UFC in 2023 after this year&#8217;s schedule was confirmed<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/21\/09\/75675597-12544035-image-a-12_1695286597775.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>UFC CEO Dana White, right, previously said he expects to see McGregor return next year<\/p>\n<p>White added that McGregor had earned &#8216;a certain level of money&#8217; that meant that priorities shifted, away from the way athletes focus when they&#8217;re &#8216;coming up&#8217; and working hard to dedicate themselves to their athletic discipline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>White said: &#8216;There were a lot of people that made a lot of money, and a lot of people left and they went and retired or moved on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You have to have a certain type of drive to make that kind of money. And you have seen guys in this sport, when they make that kind of money, they will fight a lot less, like Conor has, or they go on losing streaks because you are not that same person once you get that kind of money&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>McGregor is a coach on this year&#8217;s series of &#8216;The Ultimate Fighter&#8217;, and there were some expectations that<span>\u00a0&#8216;Notorious&#8217; would face off against rival coach Michael Chandler once the show ended for the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/21\/09\/75675595-12544035-image-a-13_1695286631116.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>It was thought McGregor would take on rival &#8216;The Ultimate Fighter&#8217; coach Michael Chandler (R)<\/p>\n<p><span>In 2021, McGregor was named as the highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes after earning \u00a3144m ($180m) in a calendar year, before the leg injury halted his professional career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since then, the Irish fighter has been pushing himself,\u00a0putting on 34lb (two-and-a-half stone) of muscle in six months after that injury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>UFC 295 in New York in November sees Jon Jones defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic, with Jiri Prochazka against Alex Pereira in the co-main event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>UFC 296 in Las Vegas in December sees Leon Edwards defend his welterweight crown against Colby Covington, nine months after defending his title in London in March.\u00a0<\/span>They will headline the co-main event alongside flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and aspiring hopeful Brandon Royval.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/mma\/article-12544035\/Conor-McGregor-NOT-return-UFC-2023-years-remaining-fights-confirmed-Dana-White-Irish-star-expected-return-Octagon-2024.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 after the year&#8217;s remaining fights were confirmed by Dana White&#8230; but the Irish star is <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\" title=\"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 after the year&#8217;s remaining fights were confirmed by Dana White&#8230; but the Irish star is [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Conor-McGregor-will-NOT-return-to-the-UFC-in-2023-as-schedule-released.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\",\"name\":\"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MMA\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/mma\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft","og_description":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 after the year&#8217;s remaining fights were confirmed by Dana White&#8230; but the Irish star is [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Conor-McGregor-will-NOT-return-to-the-UFC-in-2023-as-schedule-released.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/","name":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-21T10:22:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/conor-mcgregor-will-not-return-to-the-ufc-in-2023-as-schedule-released\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MMA","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/mma\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Conor McGregor will NOT return to the UFC in 2023 as schedule released"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289466"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}