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One of the UFC's most legendary fighters, Matt Brown, has ripped into Conor McGregor after the Irishman withdrew from his fight against Michael Chandler by saying the 35-year-old is "not ever coming back" to Dana White's MMA league.
McGregor was due to take on Chandler in Las Vegas at UFC 303 on June 29 but backed out after insisting a medical consultation ensured he would not step into a UFC octagon for the first time since 2021.
He also promises he will be back in the future, but Brown, who competed from 2008-2023 as a welterweight, believes the ex-champion isn't going to make the long-awaited comeback he promises his fans.
"I was never confident before that he would (come back)," Brown said to The Fighter vs The Writer. "It didn't shock me when I saw he was out of this fight.
"No, I'm still on that same train - he's not ever coming back. I say the same thing I said before, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I would like to see Conor fight again.
"I would like to see him do a real training camp with real training partners, push himself hard, go back to the great Conor that he was before. I would love to see that. I think a lot of people would love to see that. It's not happening."
What do we know about McGregor's injury?
McGregor vs. Chandler has been in the works for over a year, since the Irishman finished working as the antagonist in the Road House reboot with Jake Gyllenhaal, but now it has been sidelined once again.
It was initially delayed when McGregor failed to meet the anti-doping agency USADA's testing deadline and now it's being delayed due to an injury, although we don't know the precise nature of the damage to the ex-welterweight champion.
"Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout," McGregor said via Instagram. "I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me.
"The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there!
"Thank you for the messages of , I am in good spirits and confident I'll be back!"