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Despite not being back in any form of combat capacity since his 2021 TKO injury, Conor McGregor is gearing up in full force. McGregor seemingly has taken the first step and reentered DSI testing pools this year. However, Daniel Cormier is the last person to give in to the smoke show just yet.
Talks of Conor McGregor returning were bolstered by Donald Trump’s announcement of a White House PPV card for the America 250 Celebration next year. Given his superstar status and the fact that he still boasts the five highest PPV outputs to his name, ‘The Notorious’ was a clear contender for it.
McGregor seems to be discarding his usual nose-blows, over the top bar crawls and PDAs for the right midnset, gunning for a return. However, UFC veteran and current commentator Daniel Cormier is on a hard pass to put stock into it unless such a return does happen.
Conor says he wants to fight all the time, and everybody jumps to it, but it’s like, he wants to stay relevant, he wants to stay in the news, he wants the notoriety of being Conor McGregor without having to be [Conor McGregor]…That kind of sucks because when he was the man, I bet you tapped in, I bet you tapped into the UFC more than ever…
Daniel Cormier on the @ClubShayShay Podcast with Shannon Sharpe
Per the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) standards, McGregor has registered for the first test this year under DFSI. And with that, UFC CEO Dana White has even promoted him as a more reliable option for a South Lawn return.
DC on Conor McGregor: It's over for him.pic.twitter.com/uBafowI3EH
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 21, 2025
In the past months, White and McGregor amped up talks about a return and a possible meeting in Italy; for the time being it seemed like something to do with attending BKFC Rome, given McGregor is an equity owner. But this week, the Irishman actually went viral for training in Italy, which is raking up talk of an actual return.
The re-entry of the former double champion into the testing pool has been confirmed, accompanied by reports of his return to training, as evidenced by the posting of footage online over the past few weeks. But Cormier has seen all that for the past year, only to have no positive updates.
Daniel Cormier says Khabib Nurmagomedov still refuses to say rival Conor McGregor’s name
Conor McGregor has had a dwindling status in the fight sphere. To top it off, while he was the best in UFC competition history at selling PPVs, it won’t matter in the long run anymore. That notoriety is a block of the old world, given that the new $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount+ has essentially ended that model.
However, one thing that remains is the nostalgia of McGregor’s prime rivalries with Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz, and others. The biggest of them was his rivalry with ex-UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor built his status based on prime disses and one-liners. But for the devout Nurmagomedov, it had hard-hitting implications, per Team American Kickboxing (AKA) mate, Daniel Cormier.
Khabib won’t say Conor’s name still today. He still does not say his name. He hates him. They’re in the octagon and Conor whispers after the third round to Khabib, ‘It’s just business.’ Khabib goes, ‘No it ain’t.’ Khabib was holding him in [ the choke]… and said, ‘I kicked your a**.’
Daniel Cormier further said
The Khabib-McGregor rivalry is such a big topic that it persists even now, with many other Dagestan or Irish staples bearing the burdens for it. However, given the magnitude of where it went, Cormier says Khabib has had a very different take on it over the years.
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