Since apologising for the late cancellation of the UFC 303 press event in Dublin on Monday, the fighter has been keeping a relatively low profile on social media.
With concerns rising that his much-anticipated return to the Octagon will not now go ahead in Las Vegas later his month, a seemingly innocuous pint photo has prompted fans to demand answers.
Under a picture entitled ‘Summer evening pints’ that was posted on Instagram fans have taken to the comments section to express their concern.
“We need a fight update my guy,” one declared.
“Conor, what the fook’s happening with this scrap, lad,” demanded another.
“What’s going on with the fight??” one simply demanded while another claimed McGregor was “more arsed about promoting stout rather than getting in and fighting”.
“Is the fight off?” another asked. “We spent thousands of dollars to buy the tickets to watch you fight for nothing.”
The post that has fans in a tizzy
“Conor, please don’t back out of this fight, “pleaded one fan while another insisted: “Give the fans an update Conor lad, people have paid for flights and tickets.”
Should McGregor make it to fight night, it will be his first in-cage appearance since suffering a broken leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
But speculation, and concern is rising for the fight will be cancelled after the rivals’ promotional event was abruptly cancelled just 12 hours before it was supposed to take place.
Adding to fans’ doubts is news breaking this morning that Alexander Volkanovski has volunteered to replace McGregor if he pulls out of his UFC comeback fight.
While UFC boss Dana White is yet to address rumours about whether the fight will be cancelled or not, it has been reported that ESPN, the promotion’s US broadcast partner, has removed advertising for the pay-per-view from their website.
Meanwhile, Volkanovski has now offered his services to fight Chandler if McGregor does pull out.
“Nothing is booked at the moment, I’m coming over to Thailand to get that training in because I wanted to go over and there and start stepping things up,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “Maybe it’s come at a good time, you are hearing all these whispers about what is going on with all of this talk with Conor McGregor.
“Maybe they need a late-notice replacement again. I’m always keen to throw my hand up, so you heard it here first. Maybe if something happens, I’m right in.”
On Monday, McGregor issued a statement about the change of plans but indicated the June 29 bout against Michael Chandler will continue as scheduled.
“In consultation with the UFC, today’s press conference was cancelled due to a series of obstacles outside of our control,” McGregor said in a statement on social media.
“I apologise to my Irish fans, and fans around the world, for the inconvenience and appreciate all your passion and support. I can’t wait to put on the greatest all-time show in the Octagon.”
As recently as Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White indicated the event was still a go. White said he was flying to Dublin immediately after Saturday’s UFC 302 so he could meet with McGregor on Sunday.
It’s unclear if that meeting occurred. According to Canadian-American journalist Ariel Helwani, Chandler was informed of the cancellation Sunday morning and did not travel to Dublin.
McGregor and Chandler agreed to face each other since they were chosen as coaches for season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.
It was speculated that the fight between McGregor and Chandler would be part of the UFC 300 card, but Conor’s health prevented it, and it was decided to give them the star position at UFC 303, scheduled for June 29 at the T- Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
No specific reason was given for the cancellation of the event at the 3Arena, but McGregor’s presence was still felt online on Sunday, with some bizarre posts on Facebook coming from his account, attacking Guinness and its founder Arthur Guinness on a community page dedicated to the world-famous beverage.
McGregor has his own Forged stout and his Facebook account was used as a platform to make derogatory comments.
One post read: “Greedy robbing b******s.
“Arthur Guinness was a rat for a foreign entity. Today his corporation hikes up prices every second month out of pure greed.
“Ask any of the publicans where you drink. They all despise them. Forged Stout is the working man’s drink!
“Real Stout. Real prices. See you all cage side, Arthur could never.”
His account also posted a screenshot of an article written in Republican newspaper An Phoblacht in 2013, into the group just on Sunday evening concerning Guinness and its founding family.
There was a post which McGregor had gone to the Guinness Storehouse – but only “for a quick s***e”.
A photo was then shared of a female model wearing skimpy Forged-branded clothing..
