CONOR McGREGOR may be a long way from home but is still dubbing himself ‘Mr Ireland’ of late.
While showing off his Lamborghini yacht’s power in exotic waters, he again anointed himself with the strange moniker.
@thenotoriousmmaThe 35-year-old is living the freewheeling lifestyle on land and sea[/caption]
@thenotoriousmmaHe captioned the video ‘Mr Ireland goes turbo’[/caption]
@thenotoriousmmaHe was snapped on holiday in the south of France last week so we’d hazard a guess and say he’s still located around that region[/caption]
The bare-chested MMA superstar did so while rapping along to, as is his wont, the Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg classic ‘Still DRE’.
It’s a quintessential moment that sums up his lavish, carefree lifestyle of recent years.
And naturally enough, it provoked a common sentiment among his Instagram followers as to why he’d ever trade it in for another gruelling training camp and octagon return.
But the Crumlin native has always remained steadfast that we have not seen the last of him as a fighter.
And despite his scheduled bout versus Michael Chandler having been agreed in FEBRUARY, this week saw him reiterate that he will be back in the cage sooner rather than later.
In a tweet sharing a video of himself hitting the heavy bag, he wrote: “I’ll start recording my work again to share with you all while we get this next fight on and set.
“It’s coming I promise. All my real fans, the fans of the real fighter, it’s coming, I promise!”
McGregor’s absence from the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s testing pool has delayed the fight – which was seemingly set to land on the promotion’s final pay-per-view card of the year in December.
UFC and USADA policy requires fighters re-entering the pool to be available for drug testing for a minimum of six months before they’re eligible to compete.
MMA’s top promotion can, however, issue an exemption to the six-month notice rule in “exceptional circumstances”.
McGregor, 35, has continued to cast doubt over his clash with Chandler – his rival Ultimate Fighter coach – in recent weeks.
STILL CHANDLER? BING
The Dubliner has seemingly pivoted to a grudge match with long-time rival Justin Gaethje, although UFC president Dana White isn’t having any of it.
The 54-year-old said earlier this week: “Yes he’s fighting Chandler.”
White added: “I talked to Conor, either yesterday or the day before.
“And yeah, he’s ready to fight. I said, ‘Listen, get in shape and let’s figure this out.’”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the biggest fight of his career, fan favourite Chandler is confident he’ll eventually lock horns with Mystic Mac.
He said: “I’m not really that worried about it. I believe the fight is happening.
“The fight makes too much sense for it not to happen.
“I’m still the most entertaining guy on the doggone roster.
“Everyone wants to see the greatest comeback in combat sports history, so I think it’s going to be me and Conor. That’s it.”