Chael Sonnen wants to know why Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler hasn’t happened yet.
McGregor was hoping to make his highly-anticipated return this year, but that hasn’t come to fruition. A big part of the reason was due to the fact the Irishman has not entered the USADA testing pool, which Sonnen thinks could be a holdup as he doubts the UFC wouldn’t book him for his return ASAP.
“I find it to be interesting that I’m not convinced it happened. The same exact thing, it’s the voice memo that comes out on X – Twitter – and it’s Conor McGregor’s voice giving a message,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “It really sounded like him, I think it was him. He said stuff that would sound very sincere, he talked about The Ultimate Fighter, the athletes on there, I really am quite sure it was him… If Conor wants to fight so bad and they are stopping him, who is the they that are stopping him from fighting? I have a hard time thinking it’s the UFC, armed with the fact the January event got put together because Conor wanted to fight.”
December is back on the table!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 22, 2023
Chael Sonnen says USADA shouldn’t matter
With Chael Sonnen thinking the UFC would book Conor McGregor instantly, he believes USADA is the reason for the holdup. However, Sonnen wonders why that is even a holdup. He reveals fighters can be licensed to fight in Nevada without being in USADA.
“Nevada will license you right now, you don’t need to be in USADA to be licensed. There is a number of mixed martial arts fighters in Nevada that are not in USADA but are licensed,” Sonnen added. “It’s not a licensing (issue), I’m just sharing that, who was it he was blaming? He said they won’t let me fight. Who’s they? The only hint he gave us was if Bob Bennett would unretire. They will license you right now. So, what’s he talking about, who’s they? UFC doesn’t want the big fight? Do they ever want the fight? You said you’ll fight, Chandler said you’ll fight, if they don’t want it here why would they want it later? Or is that not the they, is the they USDA?”
Ultimately, right now, it does seem like USADA is the holdup for Conor McGregor’s return.
