UFC commentator and retired lightweight Paul Felder believes that Conor McGregor, a former champion of the division, will always be relevant, even if he fails to return to competition any time soon. Felder discussed his take on the McGregor question in a recent episode of The Fighter vs The Writer.
“I think he’ll always matter, as long as he’s at least teasing the idea of a return but that’s what worries me. He’s so busy. He’s filming Road House and all that kind of stuff. I don’t know if that is over or not. It’s tough.
Paul Felder: McGregor Will “Always Matter” Even if He Does Not Fight in 2023
You’re on yachts. You’ve got mansions. You’ve got all this stuff. You’ve got businesses that you’re working on. You’re coming back from a huge injury. You take yourself out of the USADA testing pool. You’ve got to wait to get back in it. I don’t know. I don’t know if we’re going to see him in 2023. To be completely honest with you.”
Felder also pointed out that lightweight remains one of the most competitive in the sport, and the division is currently filled with elite fighters who are in the gym constantly while McGregor is away from training.
“I don’t mean this in any disrespect but I do think the division is just passing him by badly. I think it’s passing a lot of us. I’m older than him by a few years at least but this next generation of fighters, if you’re not in there mixing it up with them and on the mats with those types of dudes everyday — I know he’s training — but he’s going to have to definitely hope for fights like Michael Chandler, who’s a beast but those are the guys you can still compete with.
You don’t want to be fighting Arman Tsarukyan or [Mateusz] Gamrot or these young, hungry absolute maniacs that are working their way up the division.”
However, Felder acknowledged that the very fight that made McGregor an extremely wealthy man – his foray into boxing against Floyd Mayweather – might be what will keep him from scaling the heights of his potential.
“Let’s say he hadn’t gone and done the [Floyd] Mayweather thing and just strictly stuck to MMA, I think he would have been a dangerous champion and done some damage for a long time. But you take yourself out, you focus on another sport and you’ve got time away and then the pandemic hits and you come back and you get that leg injury.
I just think it’s a lot going on to come back at the tippy top of the lightweight or welterweight division.” Is Paul Felder right about Conor McGregor? Let us know in the comments.
