‘Protect the toe’… Conor McGregor mocked by long-time rival over UFC 303 pullout after showing off soccer skills in social media video

Conor McGregor’s recent showcase of soccer skills at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium didn’t impress his contemopraries.

The Irishman was in attendance at the London side’s win over PSG during the week, and was spotted practicing his touch on the pitch after the fact. He also met with team members including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, the latter of whom he had a play fight with.

However, his initially-planned UFC 303 comeback opponent Michael Chandler used the video as another chance to mock McGregor. The pair were due to fight in June at the historic event, but the bout was pulled when the Irishman suffered a broken toe.

Who is Conor McGregor? Step inside the hedonistic life of UFC’s ‘notorious’ bad boy and legendary double champConor McGregor takes to the pitch at Arsenal’s stadiumFollowing Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Paris St-Germain during the week in the Champions League, Conor McGregor was invited on to the pitch to meet with players and fans. Unlike most guests who stayed in the tunnel area, the UFC legend made his way to the field, where he had a kick about.

McGregor used to a be a promising soccer player in his youth, before finding boxing and eventually MMA. But he still has something of a passion for the sport, previously claiming he was considering buying into childhood clubs Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic.

And while he showed off some of his silky skills on the pitch at the Emirates, the headlines were grabbed by his interactions with some of the players. He shared an awkward moment with Declan Rice when he realised the Englishman had controversially swapped the Irish national team for England.

The strangest moment, however, came when he found himself going a little bit too far in a joking play fight with Bukayo Saka. He was demonstrating how to throw a kick when he ended up getting too carried away and almost landing a kick on the soccer star.

Michael Chandler mocks Conor McGregor as he shows off soccer skillsMcGregor’s antics were viewed by hundreds of thousands on social media, including his long-time rival Michael Chandler. He was due to face the American over the summer after the pair coached on The Ultimate Fighter last year and shared almost two years of build-up.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesIn the comments section of one of the Instagram videos, Chandler took the chance to mock his rival with a tongue-in-cheek jibe about his protection of his previously broken toe. “Great footwork for wearing steel toe boots,” he wrote, before adding the hashtag: “Protect the toe at all costs.”

The former Bellator champion missed out on two years of his career waiting on the McGregor fight. And he has now opted to move on with his life, taking a rematch at UFC 309 in New York City with Charles Oliveira, who defeated him in his 2021 effort at the lightweight belt in the UFC.

Dana White’s less than positive update about Conor McGregor’s comebackUnfortunately for fight fans, despite McGregor seeming to be in good physical shape, the news doesn’t seem to be good about his comeback. He insists that he would still like to face Chandler in his first fight back, which would place his return deep into next year.

Dana White says he doesn’t know if Michael Chandler will be Conor McGregor’s opponent for his return fight in 2025:

“I have no idea… Conor will fight in 2025. However it plays out as we lead up to him being ready, I have no clue.”#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/CrchOe0HEn

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 2, 2024 View Tweet

And speaking with Kevin Iole this week, UFC boss Dana White refused to give a timeline any sooner than within the year 2025. That give the Irishman a massive 15 months to get back in action, after fans expressed concerns following a live stream in which he drank beer and smoked marijuana.

“I said that Conor wasn’t fighting until 2025 – it is October 1st of 2024,” White teased. “Conor McGregor has plenty of time – I’m going to go with 2025. Yeah. 2025.”

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