5 reasons why Conor McGregor will never regain the UFC lightweight title
2021 didn’t go so well for Conor McGregor. The UFC’s biggest superstar lost two bouts to bitter rival Dustin Poirier, suffering a serious leg injury in their second fight in the process.
Despite his losses to Poirier, Conor McGregor has already stated that his long-term goal is to regain the UFC lightweight title, but can ‘The Notorious’ really achieve this?
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The Irishman may not have actually lost either of his UFC titles in the octagon, but the truth is that it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see Conor McGregor with UFC gold around his waist again.
With that considered, here are five reasons why Conor McGregor will never regain the UFC lightweight title.
#5. The fear factor that once existed around Conor McGregor is now gone
One of the more underrated aspects of Conor McGregor’s rise to the top of both the UFC featherweight and lightweight divisions was the fear factor that he was able to instill in even his most experienced opponents.
When he debuted in the octagon in April 2013, ‘The Notorious’ was a largely unknown quantity to casual UFC fans, but that quickly changed. Not only did Conor McGregor knock out veteran Marcus Brimage in quick and impressive fashion, but he also wasted no time in talking trash on the entire UFC featherweight division. He immediately promised to become the next champion.
From there, it felt like every time that the Irishman was matched with a new opponent, he was able to get into their heads, throw them off their gameplan and defeat them with ease.
By the time that his first UFC title fight against Jose Aldo came around, it seemed like Conor McGregor had intimidated the Brazilian so much that he didn’t look like his usual confident self at all and succumbed to a knockout in just 13 seconds.
6 years ago: Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo https://t.co/X8k8zy33fK
Even his loss to Nate Diaz didn’t seem to derail the fear factor that ‘The Notorious’ triggered in his opponents. It was clearly notable in his win over Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title.
However, since his return to the UFC in 2018, it seems like the aura around Conor McGregor has been shattered. His trash-talking antics have seemingly become tired and are no longer the mental weapon they once were. His losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier have shown that he can be beaten like any other fighter.
Essentially, the fear factor that McGregor once instilled is gone. Once it’s gone, it’s impossible to get something like that back. It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to intimidate his foes as he once did and thus it’s more unlikely that he’ll ever win his title back.