McGregor Rocks Sparring Partner In Latest Footage – ‘The King Is Back’
Fans have reacted to Conor McGregor’s latest sparring footage ahead of his comeback at UFC 303.
McGregor faces Michael Chandler on June 29, his first fight since UFC 264 in 2021. McGregor broke his leg and suffered a loss to Dustin Poirier, giving him three losses in his last four fights. The leg injury could have ended his career, as question marks remain over whether he will be the same. Chandler will likely target the legs to see if the injury will hold up. The live gate for the event has already set a record, exceeding $20 million with still a month to go.
With so much anticipation building up, there will be pressure on McGregor to perform. The following clips show McGregor dominating his sparring partner. The sparring partner overextends with a right hand, as McGregor counters with his trademark left, rocking his opponent.
McGregor’s Sparring
Nevertheless, Chandler will pose more of a problem. He decided not to fight further since losing to Poirier in 2022, choosing to wait for McGregor. That has given him extra time to prepare for the biggest fight of his career. While there are worries over inactivity, he will be the fresher fighter since he had no injury.
There was also the perception that McGregor was facing weaker sparring partners to build his confidence and sell the fight. Since McGregor has been out of the Octagon for so long, can he deliver again under the bright lights? Chael Sonnen predicted a tough night for McGregor, as he backed Chandler to come out on top.
McGregor vs. Chandler
“Michael Chandler wins, you have the most disciplined guy in the sport, arguably. You have the most undisciplined guy in the sport for sure and it’s one of those situations where when you do this conversation, everybody’s going to be lazy like I’m going to be right now and say Conor’s got a puncher’s chance and if Chandler stands up with him, so on and so forth.
“I don’t know where you got that idea of puncher’s chance, I know that’s something fun that people say but I mean you got to go back to Michael Moorer dropping the belt to George Foreman, there’s no such things as puncher’s chance. The better guy wins, he wins every single time and Michael Chandler could go out there and box with Conor at this point. You don’t get better at something by not doing it,” Sonnen said
One thing in McGregor’s favor is the experience. He has been in many big fights, which once led him to becoming a two-division champion. Wins over Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez made McGregor one of the biggest stars in the UFC. The Notorious also knows what it takes to come out with a loss on the biggest stage, losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. Chandler will be up against a pro-McGregor crowd. If Chandler does not dominate and it goes to the judges, he faces a tough challenge to get the decision.
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.