Chael Sonnen dismisses Conor McGregor potentially fighting thrice in 2024, shares intriguing theory on the Irishman's contract "negotiation"

Conor McGregor's plans to fight three times in 2024 will not come to fruition, according to Chael Sonnen, who shared his thoughts on the Irishman's 2024 campaign with Daniel Cormier on their 'Good Guy / Bad Guy' show on ESPN. Sonnen had much to say about McGregor's direction for the year.

In fact, he had much to say about McGregor's contract situation, sharing a theory he has on the dynamics of the latter's negotiations with the UFC. For those unaware, 'The Notorious' had been locked in stiff negotiations with the promotion prior to the official announcement of his UFC 303 comeback.

"Do I think Conor can get two more fights? No, no. After the 'Cowboy' fight, he couldn't get them that year. I don't know why it would be different. If I am going to play along and be a good sport, okay great, let's do 'RDA' simply because 'RDA' was promised it at one point. He never backed out, he came back."

Moreover, Sonnen touched on an issue he feels relates to McGregor's current contract situation.

"I think that Conor, what you just saw, is called a negotiation. Two days ago it came out that Conor's contract is up and that Dana White and he are speaking. So when Conor comes to the media, one thing that he knew was a weakness is that he doesn't fight very often. He's attempting to tell the world, 'I will fight. In fact, I'll fight even more often.' I don't think it was sincere. I don't believe it. I do think it was a good move, though."

Check out Chael Sonnen's thoughts on Conor McGregor fighting more often (18:50 and 19:25):

Whether McGregor does indeed fight two more times this year will likely depend on how he performs at UFC 303. A loss to Michael Chandler could derail those plans.

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Why didn't Conor McGregor fight again in 2020 after beating Donald Cerrone?

Conor McGregor started 2020 with a 40-second knockout over Donald Cerrone. Unfortunately, it did not mark the beginning of the consistent run that the Irishman had promised. Despite pushing for more fights, including a questionable one against Diego Sanchez, he was sidelined for the rest of 2020.

This was due to the lack of live crowds. The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, and most of the world was in lockdown. The UFC did not think it wise to have a McGregor event without a live gate from ticket sales.