UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor hasn?t been seen in the Octagon since defeating Eddie Alvarez to win the strap at UFC 205 in November of 2016.
The Irishman has hinted at a return to the action in the past, but has not only stated it again, but also now states that he was willing to step in as a late replacement to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 222.
McGregor mentioned all of this via a post on Instagram:
The lightweight champion, if allowed to fight at UFC 222 by the promotion, would?ve filled a slot vacated by current UFC Featherweight Champion and one time McGregor opponent Max Holloway. Holloway had pulled out of the bout a few weeks back and was replaced by top five ranked featherweight Brian Ortega.
Another reason McGregor may have made this new claim about a return is the rumor that he?d be stripped of the UFC Lightweight Title in the lead up to a main event bout between UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Despite the claim that he is fighting again, one thing that McGregor neglected to mention is just when the fight would happen or whom it would come against.
Since McGregor posted the statement on Instagram about UFC 222, a plethora of responses have been issued by Frankie Edgar, his coach in Mark Henry and his agent in Ali Abdel-Aziz.
Edgar issued the following statement through Twitter:
Henry would make his feelings known through a post on Instagram:
Abdel-Aziz would take to TMZ Sports and issue his reply via a video:
MMA Fighting provided the following transcript of what Abdel-Aziz said, which is only a brief portion of the full video statement:
?Let me tell you about Conor McGregor. He?s like a prostitute, used to make high-dollar money, but she got old and nobody wanted her anymore. This f*cking guy. For three years, he did everything he can not to fight Frankie Edgar. He had so many opportunities. Now he wants to fight Frankie? That?s funny.?
There has been no response from the UFC Lightweight Champion yet to what Edgar, Henry and Abdel-Aziz have stated.