Conor McGregor’s media tour has hit a messy turn just weeks before his planned UFC return.
The former two-division UFC champion was reportedly scheduled to appear on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday, but never showed up.
Page Six reported that McGregor was expected at ESPN’s Hudson Square studios in New York and that his team did not provide an explanation for the missed appearance.
The absence stood mainly because McGregor is in the middle of a high-profile promotional stretch for his UFC comeback. The UFC lists McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 for UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a rematch of their 2013 bout and McGregor’s first fight since his 2021 leg injury against Dustin Poirier.
The ESPN Appearance Was Supposed to Promote His Comeback
A First Take appearance with Smith would have put McGregor in front of a large sports audience less than a month before UFC 329. Page Six said ESPN and McGregor’s representatives declined to comment on the missed interview.
The Spun also picked up the report, framing the no-show as another unpredictable moment around McGregor’s long-delayed return. The UFC’s official event page still lists the Holloway fight, so the missed ESPN spot does not change the scheduled bout.
McGregor defeated Holloway by unanimous decision in 2013, and their second meeting is now scheduled more than a decade later, after McGregor’s long layoff and Holloway’s own career shift into veteran-star territory.
McGregor Has Been Talking About the Long Road Back
McGregor has still appeared elsewhere during the promotional run. In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, he spoke about hitting “rock bottom” after the leg break and rebuilding himself physically and mentally for the comeback.
TalkSport covered the interview and noted that McGregor described the years after the Poirier injury as a difficult stretch before the Holloway booking finally gave him a return date.
UFC 329 remains scheduled for July 11 at T-Mobile Arena, with McGregor and Holloway still listed as the headline matchup.