When Conor McGregor was warned that Israel Adesanya might surpass him as the UFC's biggest star: "He’s not that far away"
Conor McGregor was once warned by Chael Sonnen that his status as the biggest star in the UFC could be under threat by Israel Adesanya.
In April 2023, Adesanya was riding high after recently becoming the middleweight champion once again. 'The Last Stylebender' had finally conquered his boogeyman, Alex Pereira, knocking the Brazilian out in their MMA rematch for the title.
McGregor had also been gearing up for his return to the octagon at the time, as he was taking part in season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, coaching opposite Michael Chandler. The pair were then expected to face off before the end of 2023, but their bout never came to fruition.
In July of the same year, Chael Sonnen then appeared on The MMA Hour, where he discussed Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya's popularity in the company and among fans.
'The American Gangster' claimed that should Adesanya continue his trajectory, McGregor would soon need to be looking over his shoulder as the leading star of the promotion. He said:
"There's an aura. There's a different game being played here by Izzy. You wanna know who should be watch this? It's not [Dricus] du Plessis, it's not the rest of the division. It's Conor McGregor. Izzy's coming for his spot. Izzy's coming for top draw in this sport and he's not that far away, by the way...Now I'm seeing that Izzy can play that same game. He can play it very powerfully."
Check out Sonnen's comments here (3:00):
Conor McGregor and Dana White contradict one another regarding his UFC return
Conor McGregor and Dana White don't appear to be on the same page regarding his highly anticipated return to the octagon.
During the post-fight presser after the first episode of the latest Dana White's Contender Series season, the UFC CEO was asked about the Irishman's return. White stated that despite being in contact with McGregor, he doesn't expect him to fight this year:
"We talked... We didn't meet up, but we talked... He wants to fight... Not this year. He won't fight this year."
Soon after clips of White's comments hit social media, 'The Notorious' issued a response that appeared to contradict what Dana White had said. According to McGregor, he is in fact planning to step back into the cage this December.
In a now-deleted tweet, McGregor wrote:
"Ah Dana, December is the date! Bring the calendar year home with a winning event! Come on now, what’s this? I am off to altitude next month to prepare. DECEMBER! Tell Dana and UFC WE WANT DECEMBER! WE DESERVE DECEMBER!"
Check out McGregor's tweet here:
