Conor McGregor skips ESPN, Polymarket appearances on UFC 329 tour

Conor McGregor missed multiple promotional stops during his UFC 329 media tour this week, according to reports from MMA Mania and mainstream outlets.

The Irishman was scheduled to appear on ESPN's First Take on Tuesday morning but did not show, leaving producers and staff scrambling, MMA Mania reports. On Wednesday night, McGregor pulled out of a planned stream on the Polymarket app at the last minute, the outlet added.

McGregor hits talk shows, skips others ahead of Holloway fight

McGregor did fulfill some commitments — he sat with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, logged a 45-minute conversation on Ariel Helwani's show, and completed an interview with Paramount+. But the pattern of cancellations has raised eyebrows less than a month before his July 11 matchup with Max Holloway at UFC 329.

Instead of appearing on First Take, McGregor was spotted working out in Central Park on Wednesday afternoon. Some observers have speculated the ESPN skip was calculated to avoid questions about two civil rape allegations, one resulting in a liability finding and the other dismissed by a judge. McGregor has never faced criminal charges related to sexual assault.

The Polymarket stream, however, would have been a friendly platform, leading MMA Mania to ask whether this is simply McGregor being unreliable. After five years out of competition and several false starts, the no-shows have intensified doubts about whether he will actually make it to the octagon on fight night.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Conor McGregor bounces on comeback media tour, plays touchbutt in the park instead