Conor McGregor became the most successful MMA fighter of all time. But these days, he’s evolved from a combat athlete into a full-blown, multi-tiered businessman. He’s now the face behind several well-known brands, including Forged Irish Stout, The Black Forge Inn, and Green Back Records, just to name a few. So with a $200 million fortune (according to Celebrity Net Worth), it’s no surprise that shifting his focus back to breaking faces in the Octagon is tougher than ever.

The former UFC double champ occasionally shares training footage that keeps the flame of hope alive, giving us that “who knows?” feeling every time. The head honcho himself remained publicly optimistic about his company’s biggest superstar making a grand return. However, it seems like even he might be moving on. In a recent interview with Adam Glyn, Dana White admitted, “He’s not fighting anytime soon. I haven’t talked to him in a minute, but yeah, I don’t know.”

The boss’s recent update might’ve dampened McGregor fans’ hopes for a comeback. But McGregor himself may have already hinted at his mindset through an Instagram story captioned: “Get in. Get rich. Get out,” a three-part mantra that perfectly sums up how he played the game. He entered the UFC to build his brand, made a fortune along the way, and now, more than ever, it seems like he’s truly done competing. According to him, that approach is exactly what propelled him to the top of Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list back in 2021.

Back in 2013, the same year he made his UFC debut, McGregor tweeted: “I just want two gold belts, a jiu-jitsu black belt, a Hall of Fame plaque, and 25 million in the bank. Is that too much to ask? Gym time!!” Fast forward to now, and The Irishman has checked off most of those boxes—and did it all his way. So at this point, it’s going to take a lot more than just motivation to lure him back into the Octagon.

That said, there are still countless fans around the world holding onto hope, waiting for McGregor to step back into the cage and deliver a performance like he did against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 or Chad Mendes at UFC 189. To those fans, a very knowledgeable voice in the MMA world, Chael Sonnen, has a few words to share. So, let’s see what ‘The Bad Guy’ has to say.

Chael Sonnen believes the media must stay silent on Conor McGregor until he enters the testing pool

As mentioned earlier, whenever Conor McGregor says something about a fight or shares footage of himself training, it instantly sparks speculation about a potential comeback. For example, just a few days ago, McGregor uploaded a video on social media practicing kicks with his trainer, and, as expected, the buzz started all over again. But Chael Sonnen explains that all the talk of a return is pointless unless the Irishman officially re-enters the testing pool.

‘The Bad Guy’ on his YouTube video said: “The industry has not banned together to clearly speak about how we’re gonna deal with Conor, which is nothing, no one flich, no reporters, no media, no talking heads, nobody does anything unless he enters the testing pool. Once he enters the testing pool, he needs to publicly have a promoter say that they’re going to book him. And that point, let’s all come out, let’s do our best as we’re playing spin the wheel on McGregor.”

Sonnen is spot on once again. If McGregor were ever to make a comeback in 2025, he would’ve already been in the testing pool. That doesn’t mean he can’t return at all, but the chances are getting slimmer by the day, as he dives deeper into different ventures and continues to age. He’s 36 now, soon to be 37 in July, so time is definitely running out.

With that being said, do you think that with all that success, Conor McGregor is still going to be motivated to come back and prove us wrong once again? Please let us know your thoughts by commenting below.