Gilbert Burns thinks Conor McGregor is playing mind games to make people think his UFC 303 fight is in jeopardy.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is expected to meet Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in the June 29 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, several factors have had many skeptical if McGregor has suffered an injury and is out of the fight.
McGregor posted and later deleted an old video on his Instagram story which hinted at a possible injury, causing even more speculation. However, Chandler’s Kill Cliff FC teammate Burns is convinced that the fight is still on. He thinks McGregor is emulating Ryan Garcia’s antics ahead of his Devin Haney fight, where he had people thinking he wasn’t mentally fit to compete.
“The press conference was supposed to be like two weeks ago and the press conference got crazy,” Burns said on his YouTube channel. “I think, my opinion, Conor McGregor is pulling up the Ryan Garcia card – you know, trying to act a little bit crazy. We saw a picture this guy in the hospital.
“I do think if he had any type of injury and he was in the hospital, for sure the guy not going to do any post that he’s in the hospital hanging out. I think he’s bluffing. I think he’s good. The fight’s going to happen and just making people overthinking, maybe play with the odds like Ryan Garcia did. But I think the fight is happening. I think he’s ready. I think it’s going to be a good fight.”
The UFC announced that it had “postponed” the UFC 303 pre-fight press conference featuring McGregor and Chandler about 12 hours before it was set to take place June 3 in Dublin. However, just 16 days out from UFC 303, no official word has been given on the state of the fight.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
Gilbert Burns: Conor McGregor ‘pulling up the Ryan Garcia card’ ahead of UFC 303
