Fans have pleaded with Conor McGregor to "hurry up" and book his UFC return after reflecting on the seventh anniversary of his first world title win.
McGregor is back in full training after breaking his ankle a year ago against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight at UFC 264. The former two-weight champion has recently posted pictures of himself back at the SBG Ireland HQ last week, with Bellator fighter Ciaran Clarke stating his return brought a "major buzz " to the gym.
Seven years ago, McGregor won the interim UFC featherweight title by knocking out short-notice replacement Chad Mendes in Las Vegas, Jose Aldo was originally scheduled to defend his undisputed title against McGregor on the card, but he withdrew due to a broken rib. McGregor went on to knockout Aldo in 13-seconds six months later.
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Reflecting on his world title win, McGregor wrote: "Hey guys! 7 years ago today I won my first UFC World Title in a bruiser of a bout! Iconic and historic! You can watch the story of it all and how I did it, right now on Netflix. Fans have since told McGregor to stop living in the past and focus on his UFC comeback fight.
One user wrote: "In fairness, love you because I'm an Irish native but you're doing nothing at the moment and winning nothing. Start winning again as these posts don't mean much." Another weighed in by commenting: "Just hurry up and fight again! Enough of this c***y bragging s***. Book the fight."
A third commented: "Maybe finally it's time to fight and I mean professional fighters," with another writing: "Can we please stop talking and start fighting again? You used to be such a source of Irish pride."
McGregor became the first UFC fighter to hold to belts in two different weight classes simultaneously and he wants to break another record in his return by adding a third belt to his collection. The Irishman is hopeful of fighting for the 170lb title in his comeback after piling on a lot of muscle during his layoff.
The UFC's biggest star has been called out by a handful of names for his return, with recently stripped lightweight champion Charles Oliveira even willing to miss out on a guaranteed title shot to face McGregor. "With Conor, I would fight him at 170. It's all about money and I would like to make this money fight with him," he told Helen Yee.
