CONOR MCGREGOR has drawn the ire of UFC fans with his latest training footage.
The promotion’s former poster boy is slowly but surely ramping up training ahead of his long-proposed return to the octagon.
6
Conor McGregor is slowly but surely ramping up his training ahead of his long-proposed UFC returnCredit: GETTY
6
The Irishman has been training in Italy over the last few weeksCredit: INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMA
6
‘The Notorious’ recently put a beatdown on two young sparring partnersCredit: INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMA
6
The 37-year-old’s intensity against the youngsters divided opinionCredit: INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMA
McGregor, 37, has been putting in the work on the Thai pads during his recent stay in Italy and has since started sparring.
Footage of the former two-division champion trading heavy leather with two young sparring partners started doing the rounds on social media last weekend.
McGregor didn’t take it lightly on his training partners for the day, throwing some full-pelt shots their way.
The Dubliner’s apparent refusal to take it easy on the youngsters annoyed several MMA fans, one of whom wrote on X: “Hmmm. Not a good look for McGregor.”
Another said: “Still an embarrassing show. He is such a shell of his former self.”
And another said: “Bullying young fighters.”
One remarked: “Embarrassing, TBH.”
Another chimed in: “McGregor beating up 12-year-old kids – what a downfall.”
He was set to make his grand cage comeback last June against Michael Chandler but withdrew from the Sin City showdown after breaking his left pinky toe.
McGregor took a major step towards returning to the cage late last month by re-entering the UFC‘s drug testing pool.
6
Conor McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg over four years agoCredit: AP
6
McGregor recently submitted samples to UFC drug testers following his return to their drug testing poolCredit: INSTAGRAM@THENOTORIOUSMMA
He submitted random samples to drug testers earlier this month, both of which came back negative for any banned substances.
He said: “It’s hard to let it go because it is something I enjoy. When I am around boxing it makes me miss it more. I try to only train three times a week now but it’s hard . . . very hard.
“And when people see me at the shows they assume I am coming back anyway, so it’s hard to walk away.
“I have had ground-breaking offers and everyone knows that I do not work for cheap pay.
“My eldest lad just did his first six-mile run with me and I am very proud of him because, before that, he couldn’t manage only two miles. So he is coming on well.”
Usyk and the 27-year-old Londoner Dubois managed to sell out the home of football, but even their two-bout rivalry would be dwarfed by the fantasy fight between Fury and 35-year-old AJ.
Fury’s larger-than-life persona — be it hosting daily workouts on Instagram during lockdown or starring in the WWE — has made him the sort of crossover star that boxing needs.
And he reckons there is still a desperate lack of superheroes left in the sport who can offer fight fans a 12-round escape from reality.
Tyson Fury spotted running after Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois as he posts X-rated message to rival
Fury explained: “It’s not just a problem in heavyweight boxing, it’s a problem for all of boxing.
“I don’t want to insult anyone but boxing is entertainment and it is also showbusiness. People come home from working hard at their 9-5 job — which they don’t even like — and they want to put their feet up on a Saturday.
“They want to have a couple of beers, invite a few of their friends around and be entertained.
“But when you turn the TV on and see two boring characters who just stand there and don’t say s**t, they will think, ‘What am I watching?’
“If I went to an event and it was total s**t, I would never go back again or switch it on again.
“But if something is good, I’ll book and go again. And it is the same in boxing.
Dream match imminent?
“There’s always a lack of charisma and characters. Every era has a couple of great characters and there are always a few great fighters who nobody remembers because they weren’t colourful enough characters.”
When the Fury and Joshua fight finally happens, Britain will stand still and everyone will pick a side.
The media events and face-to- face interviews will be worth the pay- per-view fee alone, even before a punch is thrown.
With the Saudis backing both men, it would generate hundreds of millions of pounds and would probably be a double header at Wembley and Riyadh.
And — following years of failed negotiations and rows over pulling power and value — Fury says they will be able to thrash out a fair deal.
He joked: “I would accept 90 per cent of the purse considering he’s coming back off a devastating knockout loss and I am coming off of two s**t losses!
Support from Paris
“But, honestly, the business side is irrelevant. If we do the fight it will be a level playing field of 50-50. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of him.”
And what about Fury’s long-suffering wife Paris, who tragically lost a baby boy six months into her pregnancy in the week building up to the first Usyk loss last year?
The Gypsy King revealed: “I have spoken to Paris in depth about it and she has said that she will support me with whatever I want to do.
“But that might just be because she is sick of me and wants me out of the way!
“Or it’s because we have been the real Bonnie and Clyde since 2005 and she will support me with whatever I want to do. She’s my ride or die.
“If we die, we die. And if we live, we live — that’s our sort of behaviour.”
