Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has not set foot in the Octagon since breaking his leg in 2021. Although he fought twice that year, losing to Dustin Poirier both times, McGregor’s last fight was in early 2020, a win against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Before that, his last fight was against Khabib Nurmagomedov, another loss, back in 2018. These lengthy periods of inactivity, to many fans and commentators, represent a serious lack of focus on the fight game for McGregor.
Has Conor McGregor “Lost Focus?” UFC Lightweight Rafael Fiziev Says So
One man who agrees with this assessment is Rafael Fiziev, who headlines UFC Vegas 79 this weekend. When discussing McGregor’s widely expected comeback fight against Michael Chandler, Fiziev backed Chandler. With one mild caveat.
“Michael and I have the same problem, because he also has to control his emotions in the fight. He has to control it. I think if he starts to control emotions, following the game plan only, he’ll beat Conor, because Conor, he lost the focus. He’s not the Conor from six years ago, five years ago. It’s not [the same] Conor.
He just has to stay smart, have to stay calm, and I think Michael can win this fight easily just because [Conor] lost the focus. I think if he [gets out of] one round, after, [Chandler will win].
It’s a very interesting fight.” What Fiziev finds most baffling about Conor McGregor’s situation is that the same charisma and star power that drove him to the top might be what’s keeping the Irish superstar from the Octagon.
“For me it’s like, it’s crazy, bro. This guy, he’s a superstar, [and] because he’s a superstar, he do whatever [he wants], he don’t need this fight. Now, he fights just for fun, just to stay active.
It’s still this crazy situation because, How is USADA not testing him? He’s lightweight fighter and you don’t test him.
It’s crazy why he can’t do it like that but everybody [else] can, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. But I think he deserves all this s*** around him, because he’s a superstar, man.
If you or me [become a star] like him, I think we can we can do the bull**** the same. He’s superstar level, that’s why he’s doing this bull****.
But I don’t say if I [become] the superstar, I [would do] the same, because I like [there] to be justice. I don’t want to say [it’s] not justice [with McGregor], but yeah, he does it because he’s a superstar.”
