Muscle Insider
New member
UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards has given his take on Conor McGregor‘s possible return to the Octagon in 2023.
McGregor, who became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion back in 2016, has struggled for form in recent years, going 1-3 across his last four outings.
While he initially made a successful comeback over a year after his failed title challenge against Khabib Nurmagomedov, knocking Donald Cerrone out in just 40 seconds, he failed to build on that success in 2021, falling to a pair of losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier.
Although his first setback against “The Diamond,” a knockout loss at UFC 257, allowed him to return just six months later, the defeat he suffered at UFC 264 didn’t.
Last July, McGregor’s trilogy fight with Poirier came to a sudden halt at the end of round one when the Irishman suffered a gruesome broken leg. The former champ-champ has been out of action ever since.
Talk of a return has picked up in recent months, with the likes of Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira even staking their claims for a lucrative matchup with the Dublin native.
As well as stoking that fire through posts on social media, which have included promises to return to the top and have gold around his waist again, recent training footage suggests that McGregor is at the end of his recovery journey and gearing up to enter the cage again.
The question on the lips of many, though, is how high will McGregor’s ceiling be?
One newly crowned UFC titleholder has now provided his answer.
Edwards On McGregor’s Comeback Ambitions: “It’ll be Difficult”
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Leon Edwards discussed the potential return of Conor McGregor, whom the Englishman shares the same management team as.
While he wished his fellow Paradigm Sports-associated fighter well and noted that he’d like to see him make a successful comeback, the reigning welterweight kingpin did doubt whether the “Notorious” star has what it takes to still compete with top-five fighters.
“I think it’ll be difficult for him to come back and compete against top-five (fighters), I feel,” Edwards said. “I think he’s put a lot of muscle on as well, which affects a fighter a lot. Especially because he broke his leg, so hasn’t been training properly.
“I’d love for him to come back and do well. I’m not a hater. His success doesn’t dim mine, so hopefully he does come back and do well,” Edwards concluded.
Having significantly bulked up during his period on the sidelines, McGregor has hinted at welterweight as his destined weight class upon his return.
With that in mind and should “Rocky” defend the title in a likely trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman next year, perhaps the Englishman will be the one to test his theory on McGregor’s return ceiling.
I’m feeling crazy confident. Calm. Disattached from emotion. Aware of what I must do and making it happen. Visualizing. I see it all. Clear. This movie wraps, I’m back. I’ll have multiple fights completed by the time this movie even releases.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 24, 2022
Do you agree with Leon Edwards’ assessment of Conor McGregor’s return plans?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards has given his take on Conor McGregor‘s possible return to the Octagon in 2023.
McGregor, who became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion back in 2016, has struggled for form in recent years, going 1-3 across his last four outings.
While he initially made a successful comeback over a year after his failed title challenge against Khabib Nurmagomedov, knocking Donald Cerrone out in just 40 seconds, he failed to build on that success in 2021, falling to a pair of losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier.
Although his first setback against “The Diamond,” a knockout loss at UFC 257, allowed him to return just six months later, the defeat he suffered at UFC 264 didn’t.
Last July, McGregor’s trilogy fight with Poirier came to a sudden halt at the end of round one when the Irishman suffered a gruesome broken leg. The former champ-champ has been out of action ever since.
Talk of a return has picked up in recent months, with the likes of Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira even staking their claims for a lucrative matchup with the Dublin native.
As well as stoking that fire through posts on social media, which have included promises to return to the top and have gold around his waist again, recent training footage suggests that McGregor is at the end of his recovery journey and gearing up to enter the cage again.
The question on the lips of many, though, is how high will McGregor’s ceiling be?
One newly crowned UFC titleholder has now provided his answer.
Edwards On McGregor’s Comeback Ambitions: “It’ll be Difficult”
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Leon Edwards discussed the potential return of Conor McGregor, whom the Englishman shares the same management team as.
While he wished his fellow Paradigm Sports-associated fighter well and noted that he’d like to see him make a successful comeback, the reigning welterweight kingpin did doubt whether the “Notorious” star has what it takes to still compete with top-five fighters.
“I think it’ll be difficult for him to come back and compete against top-five (fighters), I feel,” Edwards said. “I think he’s put a lot of muscle on as well, which affects a fighter a lot. Especially because he broke his leg, so hasn’t been training properly.
“I’d love for him to come back and do well. I’m not a hater. His success doesn’t dim mine, so hopefully he does come back and do well,” Edwards concluded.
Having significantly bulked up during his period on the sidelines, McGregor has hinted at welterweight as his destined weight class upon his return.
With that in mind and should “Rocky” defend the title in a likely trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman next year, perhaps the Englishman will be the one to test his theory on McGregor’s return ceiling.
I’m feeling crazy confident. Calm. Disattached from emotion. Aware of what I must do and making it happen. Visualizing. I see it all. Clear. This movie wraps, I’m back. I’ll have multiple fights completed by the time this movie even releases.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 24, 2022[/quote]
Do you agree with Leon Edwards’ assessment of Conor McGregor’s return plans?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
McGregor, who became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion back in 2016, has struggled for form in recent years, going 1-3 across his last four outings.
While he initially made a successful comeback over a year after his failed title challenge against Khabib Nurmagomedov, knocking Donald Cerrone out in just 40 seconds, he failed to build on that success in 2021, falling to a pair of losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier.
Although his first setback against “The Diamond,” a knockout loss at UFC 257, allowed him to return just six months later, the defeat he suffered at UFC 264 didn’t.
Last July, McGregor’s trilogy fight with Poirier came to a sudden halt at the end of round one when the Irishman suffered a gruesome broken leg. The former champ-champ has been out of action ever since.
Talk of a return has picked up in recent months, with the likes of Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira even staking their claims for a lucrative matchup with the Dublin native.
As well as stoking that fire through posts on social media, which have included promises to return to the top and have gold around his waist again, recent training footage suggests that McGregor is at the end of his recovery journey and gearing up to enter the cage again.
The question on the lips of many, though, is how high will McGregor’s ceiling be?
One newly crowned UFC titleholder has now provided his answer.
Edwards On McGregor’s Comeback Ambitions: “It’ll be Difficult”
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Leon Edwards discussed the potential return of Conor McGregor, whom the Englishman shares the same management team as.
While he wished his fellow Paradigm Sports-associated fighter well and noted that he’d like to see him make a successful comeback, the reigning welterweight kingpin did doubt whether the “Notorious” star has what it takes to still compete with top-five fighters.
“I think it’ll be difficult for him to come back and compete against top-five (fighters), I feel,” Edwards said. “I think he’s put a lot of muscle on as well, which affects a fighter a lot. Especially because he broke his leg, so hasn’t been training properly.
“I’d love for him to come back and do well. I’m not a hater. His success doesn’t dim mine, so hopefully he does come back and do well,” Edwards concluded.
Having significantly bulked up during his period on the sidelines, McGregor has hinted at welterweight as his destined weight class upon his return.
With that in mind and should “Rocky” defend the title in a likely trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman next year, perhaps the Englishman will be the one to test his theory on McGregor’s return ceiling.
I’m feeling crazy confident. Calm. Disattached from emotion. Aware of what I must do and making it happen. Visualizing. I see it all. Clear. This movie wraps, I’m back. I’ll have multiple fights completed by the time this movie even releases.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 24, 2022
Do you agree with Leon Edwards’ assessment of Conor McGregor’s return plans?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
McGregor, who became the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion back in 2016, has struggled for form in recent years, going 1-3 across his last four outings.
While he initially made a successful comeback over a year after his failed title challenge against Khabib Nurmagomedov, knocking Donald Cerrone out in just 40 seconds, he failed to build on that success in 2021, falling to a pair of losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier.
Although his first setback against “The Diamond,” a knockout loss at UFC 257, allowed him to return just six months later, the defeat he suffered at UFC 264 didn’t.
Last July, McGregor’s trilogy fight with Poirier came to a sudden halt at the end of round one when the Irishman suffered a gruesome broken leg. The former champ-champ has been out of action ever since.
Talk of a return has picked up in recent months, with the likes of Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira even staking their claims for a lucrative matchup with the Dublin native.
As well as stoking that fire through posts on social media, which have included promises to return to the top and have gold around his waist again, recent training footage suggests that McGregor is at the end of his recovery journey and gearing up to enter the cage again.
The question on the lips of many, though, is how high will McGregor’s ceiling be?
One newly crowned UFC titleholder has now provided his answer.
Edwards On McGregor’s Comeback Ambitions: “It’ll be Difficult”
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, Leon Edwards discussed the potential return of Conor McGregor, whom the Englishman shares the same management team as.
While he wished his fellow Paradigm Sports-associated fighter well and noted that he’d like to see him make a successful comeback, the reigning welterweight kingpin did doubt whether the “Notorious” star has what it takes to still compete with top-five fighters.
“I think it’ll be difficult for him to come back and compete against top-five (fighters), I feel,” Edwards said. “I think he’s put a lot of muscle on as well, which affects a fighter a lot. Especially because he broke his leg, so hasn’t been training properly.
“I’d love for him to come back and do well. I’m not a hater. His success doesn’t dim mine, so hopefully he does come back and do well,” Edwards concluded.
Having significantly bulked up during his period on the sidelines, McGregor has hinted at welterweight as his destined weight class upon his return.
With that in mind and should “Rocky” defend the title in a likely trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman next year, perhaps the Englishman will be the one to test his theory on McGregor’s return ceiling.
I’m feeling crazy confident. Calm. Disattached from emotion. Aware of what I must do and making it happen. Visualizing. I see it all. Clear. This movie wraps, I’m back. I’ll have multiple fights completed by the time this movie even releases.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 24, 2022[/quote]
Do you agree with Leon Edwards’ assessment of Conor McGregor’s return plans?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
