CONOR MCGREGOR has hinted that he may be OUT of his eagerly-anticipated UFC return.
The Notorious is slated to make his long-awaited cage comeback against Michael Chandler at the end of the month in the main event of UFC 303 in Las Vegas.
But speculation is rife that the Irishman is injured following the short-notice cancellation of a Dublin press conference last week.
McGregor, 35, appeared to jokingly lean into the rumours about his fitness last Thursday by posting a snap of himself on a physio’s massage bed.
And he’s seemingly done so once again with his latest tweet and delete, which included an old video of himself discussing how he stays injury-free.
In the clip, the former two-division champion said: “I think the more resistance you train with, the less movement and the more injury.
“The less resistance you train with, the more movement and the less injury.
“A band balances itself. You might be going a little bit lighter, but the positions you wouldn’t be if everyone was tense.
“Everyone was trying to win every round.”
Team McGregor and the UFC brass have remained tight-lipped on the status of UFC 303’s showpiece bout, much to the frustration of MMA fans.
But UFC bigwigs Dana White and Hunter Campbell are reportedly exploring new options for the International Fight Week headliner and are said t have sent out “feelers” to potential replacements.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani said: “On Monday of last week, I would say optimism level was not very high.
“There was some concern, there was some doubt, there were road blocks.
“I came on this show on Wednesday and said optimism was high.
“There was great positivity, all those words I used.
“It felt like we had dodged a bullet, it felt like we had turned a corner.
“On Tuesday, I reported that the UFC was sending out feelers, they were reaching out to fighters and managers to see who could possibly be available to either replace the fight.
“Meaning two new fighters or step in and replace one of the fighters involved to fight on this card.
“Obviously, the fighter we’re talking about is Conor McGregor, because if not, why would Chandler be ready to go on a plane to Dublin?
“So I said that it seemed we were all good, and by Wednesday, no feelers were being thrown out, no one was talking about this, really.
“It seemed as though all systems were a go.
“Yesterday morning I started to hear — as I continued to check in because I know there’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of doubt.
“A lot of concern about this because it’s such a big fight and because no one involved are speaking about this publicly.
“Chandler did the one interview and I think that squashed some concern.
“But no one is really talking about this — and I found out, via multiple sources, that they are reaching out to people again.
“They are reaching out to managers, they are reaching out to fighters, as potential replacements, as a new fight, as back-ups, as someone stepping in for McGregor, or just as insurance.
“Just in case. All these things are in play.
“One step further, here we are, Wednesday, 1:15, the positivity that I talked about exactly one week ago today is nowhere to be found.
“I would say this fight is very much in limbo.
“I would say it’s hanging on and the UFC is working very, very hard right now to figure out a Plan B.
“The Plan B could be someone stepping in to fight Chandler, the Plan C could be a whole new fight.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in June 2021.
