The Mac is back … to missing multiple media appearances!
After spending months focused solely on training for his upcoming UFC 329 fight against Max Holloway on July 11th, Conor McGregor landed in America to begin a media tour to promote the fight. He was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You may have seen him on the Ariel Helwani show where he did a live 45 minute interview, or clips from an interview he did with Paramount+. But amidst those appearances, we’re hearing stories of McGregor not turning up for other press commitments.
The biggest of these would be ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith. McGregor was scheduled to appear on the Tuesday morning show but was reportedly a “no show,” leaving producers and staff in a lurch. It’s no wonder the story has gotten out, with multiple mainstream organizations reporting on the skipped media appearance.
Next up on the list of no-shows was a scheduled stream on the Polymaket app at 10 p.m. on Wednesday night.
“The press tour has begun, the return is actually happening!” one MMA outlet declared above news of the Polymarket appearance.
McGregor cancelled at the last minute.
The Irish sports star hasn’t completely dropped off the map. He was spotted having a little stretch and workout in Central Park on Wednesday afternoon, but it is curious that he’s seemingly skipping various promotional engagements. There was some speculation that McGregor may have skipped ESPN to avoid questions surrounding two allegations of rape, one of which he was found legally liable for and the other which was thrown out by a judge. Both were civil cases; McGregor has never been criminally charged for sex crimes.
The Polymarket stream would have been friendly enough, which raises the question: is this just Conor McGregor being unreliable? And does that unreliability extend past media appearances to his training regiment, or even his likeliness of showing up at UFC 329?
After five years away from the sport and multiple failed comeback attempts, there’s a lot of people questioning whether McGregor will actually step into the cage again. While there’s no reason to panic just yet, “The Notorious” half-assing his comeback media tour does seem like a bit of a red flag.
