UFC 230: Will Conor McGregor attend Cormier vs Lewis in New York?
UFC 230 is right around the corner, but Conor McGregor’s future continues to be at the forefront of MMA fans’ minds.
McGregor made his long-awaited return to the Octagon earlier this month in the main event of UFC 229, where he locked horns with reigning lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Irishman’s bid to reclaim the title he was stripped of in April fell flat on its face as he suffered a fourth-round submission loss to ‘The Eagle’.
The UFC’s latest pay-per-view event takes place this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, though it has somewhat been overshadowed by the fallout from its predecessor.
With days remaining before the card, many fans are wondering if McGregor will make an appearance ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’, the venue for his historic UFC 205 victory over Eddie Alvarez.
UFC 230 Results - All the action and reaction from Cormier vs Lewis
At this moment in time, it’s unknown if ‘The Notorious’ will show up to the event, which is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis.
But judging from recent social media posts from his head coach John Kavanagh, the Irishman won’t be flying over to New York.
Earlier this week, Kavanagh revealed that McGregor had resumed training on Instagram, much to the delight of his legion of fans.
McGregor’s resuming of training, coupled with the fact he hasn’t been cageside for a pay-per-view event since UFC 200 in July 2016, makes it highly unlikely we’ll see him in New York this weekend.
However, one can’t entirely rule out the possibility of ‘The Notorious’ jumping on a private jet to take in Sunday morning’s fights.
Defeat to Nurmagomedov was the fourth of McGregor’s career and his second inside the Octagon.
The Dubliner is eager to have a rematch with the Russian but is willing to face whoever the UFC brass puts in front of him.
"If it is not the rematch right away, no problem," he said in a lengthy Instagram post reflecting on his latest setback. “I will face the next in line.
UFC 230 Results - All the action and reaction from Cormier vs Lewis
"It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all."
McGregor took a near two-year hiatus from the cage after beating Alvarez but plans on returning to action sooner rather than later.
“I’m looking to get back in, of course," McGregor said during a recent appearance in Boston. "We’ll see what happens.
“Obviously, there is stuff with the Nevada Athletic Commission. So they’ll make a judgement on that and we’ll go from there.”