Chael Sonnen thinks Conor McGregor needs to come to terms with his championship aspirations.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who’s currently healing from a leg break suffered in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, had set his eyes on then-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and then-welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.
The former UFC dual-champ is 1-3 in his past four fights, but still is being called out by the likes of Oliveira, who faces Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title in the UFC 280 headliner on Oct. 22. But Sonnen thinks McGregor’s time as champion is done.
”Conor McGregor’s championship run is over,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “That’s true. That’s mean. Conor did not come out and tell you guys because he’s not aware of it.”
Sonnen used as an example Rafael dos Anjos, who recently said he had his last title run and wants to get matched up against fellow veterans moving forward. While Sonnen doesn’t think McGregor will recapture gold, he still expects him to continue headlining and selling out record-breaking events.
”I say Conor McGregor’s championship time is done. Conor McGregor’s record setting isn’t,” Sonnen said. “Conor McGregor’s live gate is not (done), Conor McGregor’s pay-per-view (potential) – these things are not done. His time in the spotlight and his time as a main event, these are not done – not at all.”
Chael Sonnen: Conor McGregor’s ‘championship run is over,’ but he’s not aware of it