Conor McGregor has been told to forget about returning to the ring and focus on making a successful comeback in the UFC.
The UFC superstar has been out of action since breaking his leg in a second consecutive defeat by Dustin Poirier last July but has been documenting his return to training as he eyes a comeback next year. During his time out of competition, McGregor has been linked to several high-profile fights including a rematch against Floyd Mayweather.
McGregor has stated it is his ambition to return to the boxing ring and to become world champion in the sport, despite having two fights remaining on his deal with the UFC. Although the 34-year-old has suggested he could compete in both sports and be successful, UFC heavyweight Andrei Arlovski has used his own experiences to suggest that fighting in two separate disciplines doesn't work.
"Back in 2009 I tried to be at that time what doing right now McGregor, Silva, boxing matches," Arlovski told SportsKeeda when assessing if McGregor can compete in both boxing and the UFC. "And back then thirteen years ago same as De La Hoya. I have one ass but I want to sit on two chairs same time. MMA and boxing; this s*** doesn't work. I took a lesson from this and I felt, I have to focus on my MMA career. On my UFC career. Period."
Arlovski has always put his UFC defeat to Fedor Emelianenko down to the fact he looked to pursue a boxing deal with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions in 2009, which saw him crumble to a devastating KO. Equally McGregor's form has faced a significant decline since he stepped in the boxing ring having won just a single UFC outing since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
McGregor generated huge wealth from his clash with the boxing legend despite succumbing to a tenth round stoppage, but he later fell to defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov and most recently by Poirier. The Irishman has dropped out of the top ten of the UFC rankings for the first time in several years, but is instead now eyeing a return at 170lb where there could be a number of big names available.
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However Mayweather has claimed this month that he and McGregor are deep in talks for a second meeting, while Irish star Dennis Hogan is also planning to offer the MMA fighter a crossover bout to fight for the IBO world title. He has hinted at a return to the boxing ring, when he told Sky Sports : "Boxing is my first love in combat sports.
"I had such a great time the last time I was out there. Obviously, my return will be in the octagon for UFC. That story is far from over, in fact it's just being written. But I will grace the squared circle again in the future."
