Pullout Rumors, Physique Debates, and "Washed" Comments. Conor McGregor's Return Has the Internet Divided

Conor McGregor is two days from stepping into the Octagon for the first time in five years and the internet has decided he's already done.

"A return to nothing but to being beat up. His new run will be short lived. He's washed."

"His next few fights will be an abysmal end of his career. Take it from me."

"He's a POS has been."

Those aren't comments from a random YouTube video with 300 views. That's the reaction across MMA Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram to the biggest comeback in UFC history. The man who sold out arenas on three continents and made the UFC a mainstream phenomenon is getting torn apart by the same fan base he helped build.

And this week the pullout rumors made it even worse.

The Pullout Panic

Earlier this week, fans noticed McGregor cancelled his post fight afterparty at Encore Las Vegas. Within hours MMA Twitter was in full meltdown mode. "He's pulling out." "Here we go again." "I knew it." After the Chandler fight fell apart two weeks out at UFC 303, people are traumatized. Any small sign that something might be off and the panic starts.

Then the ticket link on the UFC's website went down briefly. For a period of time you literally could not buy tickets to UFC 329 through the official site. It came back up within hours but the damage was done. Screenshots were everywhere. The conspiracy theories were writing themselves.

MMA Mania ran a headline that said "Don't Panic!" GiveMeSport ran "Fans Seriously Worried McGregor is Pulling Out." The fear was genuine because fans have been burned before.

The reality? McGregor moved his afterparty to Marquee at the Cosmopolitan because he got a bigger deal. The ticket link was a website glitch. And McGregor landed in Las Vegas on Monday, posted it to social media, and has been doing media obligations all week. The fight is happening.

But the fact that fans immediately assumed the worst tells you something about where the relationship between McGregor and the fan base stands right now. The trust is gone. Five years of cancelled fights, broken promises, and missed opportunities turned "Conor's fighting!" from the most exciting sentence in MMA to "I'll believe it when I see him in the cage."

The Physique Debate

On top of the pullout rumors, fans have been dissecting McGregor's body like a science experiment.

Recent photos show McGregor looking significantly bigger than any previous version of himself. The man is THICK at welterweight. Muscled up in a way that looks impressive but has fans genuinely concerned about his cardio.

"Too much show no go. Added mass on top of lungs and a heart that couldn't sustain as it was. Big mistake."

"Way too big. Gonna gas out."

"Gas tank gonna be an issue. Max is a volume puncher and a cardio machine."

The concern is legitimate on paper. More muscle mass requires more oxygen. Holloway is one of the best conditioned fighters in UFC history. If McGregor can't finish the fight early, the added size could become a liability in rounds three, four, and five when Holloway typically takes over.

But here's the thing nobody bringing up the physique debate wants to acknowledge. McGregor has had five years to build this body specifically for this fight. He didn't bulk up in eight weeks. He's been training at welterweight for years knowing this is the division he'd compete in. The coaches who built him into a double champion are the same coaches managing his weight right now. Maybe the added mass is a problem. Or maybe the man who has been preparing for this moment for half a decade knows exactly what he's doing.

What People Are Forgetting

I'm going to say something that might sound weird given everything I just wrote about the fan backlash.

The arena is still sold out.

T-Mobile Arena with 20,000 seats. UFC 329. Tickets approaching $2,000 for nosebleeds. The same building where McGregor broke his leg in 2021. Every seat filled. For a 37 year old coming off a five year layoff against a guy the internet says will demolish him.

The people trashing McGregor online and the people buying $2,000 tickets to watch him fight are not the same people. The vocal minority on social media has decided he's washed. The 20,000 fans who paid to be in the building on Saturday disagree. And the Paramount+ subscription numbers for this weekend are going to prove that the McGregor effect is still real regardless of what the comment sections say.

McGregor at his peak was the biggest star combat sports had ever produced. Knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds. Became the first simultaneous two-division champion. Made $100 million boxing Mayweather. Turned press conferences into must-see television. Built a rivalry with Khabib that transcended the sport entirely.

Five years away doesn't erase what he built. It tests whether he can still perform at the level that built it. And on Saturday we find out.

The Odds Have Shifted

Here's a detail that tells you the betting market doesn't fully agree with the "he's washed" narrative.

When the fight was first announced, Holloway was a -550 favorite. Some books had him as high as -700. McGregor was the biggest underdog of his career.

As of today, Holloway is around -230. McGregor is roughly +190. The line has moved SIGNIFICANTLY in McGregor's direction. Money is coming in on the comeback. Enough money that the oddsmakers have adjusted by hundreds of points.

That doesn't mean McGregor wins. It means the people putting their wallets where their mouths are think this fight is closer than the internet does. The comment section says "washed." The betting market says "competitive." Those are very different assessments and historically the betting market is smarter than Twitter.

Two Days

Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, every question gets answered.

Can McGregor still move at 37? Can he take a shot? Is the power still there? Does the cardio hold up past round two? Can he handle Holloway's volume in the later rounds? Is the ring rust real or did five years of preparation overcome five years of inactivity?

The fans trashing him online have already made up their minds. He's done. He's washed. He's coming back to get embarrassed by a younger, more active, more prepared opponent who's going to volume strike him into oblivion from round three onward.

Maybe they're right.

But the last time this many people counted McGregor out, he knocked Jose Aldo unconscious in 13 seconds. The time before that, he finished Eddie Alvarez in two rounds to become the first fighter to hold two UFC titles at the same time. The time before THAT, he beat Max Holloway over three rounds with a torn ACL.

The man has earned the right to prove people wrong one more time. Whether he can actually do it at 37 after five years away is the question that makes Saturday the most watched combat sports event of the year.

The haters are loud. The arena is sold out. And the fight is in two days.

Saturday tells us everything. The internet can wait.

Thanks for riding with CageLore. Stay locked in!