Conor McGregor's next outing should be considered his retirement fight, says Chael Sonnen
UFC veteran Chael Sonnen believes that matchmaking for Conor McGregor needs to be approached differently than it is for other fighters. Speaking on an edition of Beyond The Fight, the former UFC title challenger stated that every McGregor fight must be approached like his last:
"I think every Conor fight, as you're doing the matchmaking and the booking and the guessing as to what that's going to be, I think you need to take it from the perspective of, 'This is Conor's last fight. His next fight is going to be his last fight. Does it meet x, y, and z criteria?' That would be tough to do."
Conor McGregor has been teasing a return to the octagon for some time now. The anticipation for the return of the biggest star in the UFC only grows further with each name attached to his comeback. So far, 'Notorious' has been linked to Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, Dan Hooker, Tony Ferguson, and even Charles Oliveira and Kamaru Usman. Given his current build, the Irishman has been touted to possibly return at welterweight.
Michael Chandler wants to be Conor McGregor's comeback fight. 😱 https://t.co/EduuIkSk4v
However, Chael Sonnen believes that all these fight suggestions have one thing in common: They work on the assumption that Conor McGregor is going to stick around with the UFC for at least a few more fights.
"If you're doing the booking, the one piece of information that I think you need, that nobody has actually gone out and asked Conor is, how many times? How many more walks? How many more preparations? How many more training camps? How many more weigh-ins? How many more contracts do you intend to sign?" Sonnen said.
Watch the full video below:
Why does Chael Sonnen propose different matchmaking for Conor McGregor?
Chael Sonnen argues that Conor McGregor has one trait that sets him apart from most fighters: he doesn't need a UFC paycheck.
Conor McGregor is the world's highest-paid athlete, according to Forbes 💰 https://t.co/kKqZNZ7cQ4
The former UFC title challenger claimed that any UFC fighter holding on until the promotion lets them go or age catches up significantly, will admit that they are holding on for the paycheck. However, the Crumlin native is way past that stage.
Linking this to his argument above, Sonnen claims that McGregor may decide to call it quits and not want to defend a belt that could come out of his comeback fight. Or, he may not want to make a whole new run by getting experience through fights with the likes of Tony Ferguson.