McGregor Won’t Return At UFC 300; Could It Be Adesanya Vs. Pereria 3
Conor McGregor will not be making a return to the sport at UFC 300.
That is according to former Bellator fighter Ben Askren. The Notorious is expected to make his return in 2024 after his USADA enrolment. Under the rules, the fighter must provide two negative samples across a six-month period before he can compete in the sport.
The timeline would suggest that a return to UFC 300 could be on the cards. However, Dana White confirmed that McGregor would not be taking part since a summer date was more likely for a potential fight with Michael Chandler. And now Askren seems to have echoed those words.
McGregor’s Return
“People would be really into the return of Conor McGregor, but I’m not sure it’s actually happening, we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting, it may happen, it may not, we’ll see,” Askren said
Nevertheless, Colby Covington has expressed his wish to face McGregor. The former has been out of action since he beat Jorge Masvidal. That was the latter’s last fight in the UFC as he subsequently retired. While Chandler is the name being mentioned for McGregor because of their rivalry on the TUF 31 series, Covington wanted to throw his name in the hat.
“[He’s] one of the biggest and best fighters to ever grace the Octagon. I mean, the biggest fighter, for sure, in terms of celebrity status. I think it’d be a great contest. What he’s been able to accomplish in this sport is unmatched and I’d love to lock horns with him. He’s unpredictable. You don’t know what you’re going to get when you get Conor in the Octagon. He knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds, no one thought he was going to do that. I’d love to step in there because I believe that is someone that would really bring the best in me and you’d see the best Colby Covington in that fight,” Covington said
Adesanya Vs. Pereira 3
This naturally begs the question: Who could make it on the card? Well, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey had been linked with a historic return, only for Dana White to dismiss those rumors. Outside of that, Dustin Poirier has indicated his desire to have a rematch with Justin Gaethje in what would be a historic trilogy. Their rivalry stands at 1-1 after Gaethje stopped Poirier in the second round at UFC 291.
But for all of those names that were mentioned, Askren felt that Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira could be in line for a rematch in a huge trilogy after Izzy stopped the latter in their second bout. However, following his loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, Adesanya expressed his intention to take a break from the sport after losing his middleweight title. But the prospect of a fight with Pereira could be enough to sway his mind. And that is what Askren was hoping to see.
“I thought maybe he’d (Adesanya) bump up to fight Pereira again. Because Pereira seems to want that. So I think that’s one route you could go: Pereira vs Adesanya. I think people would be into that,” Askren
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