Matt Brown asserts that Conor McGregor has lost his motivation to compete following the moment when Dustin Poirier effectively diminished his spirit.

Has Conor McGregor's final performance in the UFC already occurred? With over three years elapsed since his last fight and no indication of when he might return to competition, McGregor's future appears more uncertain than ever. Matt Brown has consistently argued that McGregor would not make a comeback, a viewpoint that gained further credibility when Michael Chandler opted to move on from a potential matchup with the Irish fighter after waiting nearly two years for the bout to materialize.

“It’s evident — he’s not putting in the effort that a competitor preparing for a fight should be putting in,” Brown remarked about McGregor on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I maintain my belief that we are unlikely to see Conor again. If he does return, I would acknowledge my error, but I genuinely doubt we will see him back in the UFC octagon.” Brown cites numerous reasons for his skepticism regarding McGregor's return, with perhaps the most compelling evidence stemming from an incident in 2021.

That night marked the moment McGregor suffered a severe leg injury during a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier, resulting in his second consecutive defeat. Reflecting on that event, Brown asserts that something within McGregor changed irreparably.

“When that fight occurred, it appeared to me that Dustin took his spirit that day,” Brown stated. “I believe we all sensed that. Perhaps we underestimated the severity of the situation. We thought Conor was a warrior who would return quickly. However, upon reviewing that fight, it was clear that Dustin took his very essence.

“I thought Nate Diaz might have taken a piece of him the first time he defeated Conor, but McGregor rebounded from that. Whatever Dustin did, I believe he truly took Conor's spirit, and it seems he has lost the will to compete.” Naturally, McGregor would likely contest this perspective, given his persistent calls for fight bookings and his grievances about being sidelined for an extended period during his recovery.