Conor McGregor body transformation leaves world in shock
Conor McGregor has left his legion of social media followers in a state of disbelief after sharing a photo of his stunning body transformation.
The Irish superstar has not fought since breaking his leg in defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July last year.
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McGregor has since has had a steel rod implanted into his lower left leg and is on the road to recovery, with plans to return to the octagon later in 2022.
The Irishman is aiming to be back in full training in the coming months, ahead of a potential return fight in the Aussie winter.
While an opponent is yet to be decided, lightweight champion Charles Oliveira - who successfully defended his tile against Poirier in December - has been mooted in what would be a blockbuster comeback fight for McGregor and UFC fans.
Judging by the latest photos of the Irishman though, a fight at 155 pounds (70kg) looks to be a distant possibility.
McGregor has reportedly being increasing the intensity of his workouts, with his early gym sessions focussed on strength training as he recovers from the busted leg.
At one point during his recent time out of the octagon, the former two-weight UFC champion blew out to 86kg, which is a whopping 15kg more than he's used to fighting at in the lightweight ranks.
In a new photo shared to his more than 43 million Instagram followers, the Irishman still looks as though he's retained a lot of that muscle, with the Irishman's head, arms, shoulders and torso looking decidedly bigger than what most fans are used to seeing.
The 33-year-old's regular sparring partner Cian Cowley was among those to remark at the Irishman's stunning body transformation, commenting: “Steak and eggs the size of you.”
Another fan wrote: “Heavyweight champ next?”
It was a similar sentiment with another user adding: “Heavyweight champion?? (Francis) Ngannou stands no chance.”
Conor McGregor's weight shocks fight world
McGregor's weight has been the topic of much recent discussion in the fight world, with Poirier and former UFC star Chael Sonnen discussing it on the latter's podcast.
Poirier suggested that McGregor looked a “little puffy” and Sonnen also said he had concerns about the Irishman's plans to return to the octagon in mid-2022.
“That picture of him at 190 (pounds) … he looked like he was extremely bloated,” Sonnen said on his podcast.
“And when somebody weighs 190 (86kg) – that’s used to weighing 155 (70kg), 175 (79kg); what you have to wonder is how. How did you get this big? Why? The answer to me seems redundantly obvious.
“You’re not training. You cannot train the way you need to prepare in MMA, which we’re well aware. We are well aware that Conor is not. He’s got the hurt leg and he’s not doing what he is used to. He’s not jumping rope. He’s not running. He’s not pulling the sled. He’s not sparring. We get it. He’s having to do other exercises.
“If you’re not doing our sport, who gives a damn what you weigh? If your calorie deficit to intake got so far out of control, that you’re bigger than you’ve ever been, that’s not a good thing.”
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