Conor McGregor posts new training footage ahead of UFC return and it's sparked fierce debate

Conor McGregor is training more than four years after his last mixed martial arts (MMA) bout and fans have all noticed the same thing after watching footage of him sparring.

The 37-year-old is one of the biggest names associated with the UFC, even though he last fought in the Octagon back in 2021.

McGregor's MMA record stands at 22 wins from 28 bouts, with 19 of those victories coming by knockout as the Irishman established himself as one of the UFC's most exciting and charismatic fighters.

McGregor has six losses to his name, with defeats in his last two MMA bouts - both at the hands of Dustin Poirier, the most recent of these being in July 2021.

The Notorious had been due to make his long awaited return to the Octagon last year against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but it was cancelled after McGregor suffered a broken toe.

Since then, McGregor's hopes of making a comeback have been given a boost. That's after he was drug tested by an official following his return to the UFC testing pool, with the Irishman providing a blood and urine sample.

He shared a series of posts online, accompanied with the caption: "I gave my first blood test, that’s the plaster on my shoulder. I am ECSTATIC! I'm in SHAPE!"

McGregor has now stepped up those plans and is training in a boxing ring to test out his MMA fighting skills, ahead of a potential return at the planned UFC White House event.

Footage posted on X showed McGregor boxing and kick boxing with a sparring partner.

But the video highlighted McGregor looking slow in the ring, compared to earlier in his career when his speed was clear to see.

Fans have since reacted to the training video on social media, with some noting that McGregor looks to be slower and might not last long back in the Octagon.

One said: "He would get knocked out by any ranked fighter right now."

Another wrote: "Looking a little heavy and labouring in his movements, but it’s gonna look like that as he is paying a heavy toll to get back into fight shape… just part of the process if he’s serious about returning to the UFC and not vs an influencer type deal."

One fan bluntly said: "He would get KO’d by every ranked LW and WW and Jake Paul right now."

Another posted: "Even without all the party and stuff, he's nearing his 40's, and people expects him to move like he's in his 20's. This is natural, even Poirier showed stiffness now he's old."

And one fan wrote: "Yes he looks slow, but he is definitely 15-25 pounds overweight. He looked really good last year when he was in fighting shape before the injury.

"I think he will look slightly better if he continues to train consistently from now to the White House card."