Conor McGregor is coming out of hibernation, and he picked a weird week to do it. The former two-division UFC champ will be a special guest at Hype FC’s show in Rome on Tuesday, his first public appearance since the loss at UFC 329. He announced it right after his longtime teammate Dillon Danis pulled out of the card’s main event on two days’ notice.
McGregor broke the news on Instagram in full hype-man mode, crediting his sponsor in the same breath.
“I’m in Rome this week with my partners, the biggest name in sports betting, @1xbeteng!” McGregor wrote. “A massive week ahead! Catch me across their scheduled events as we take over Rome in style.”
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He closed with “We’re coming in BIG. See you all there!” and attached a poster billing him as Hype’s special guest.
The Danis hole
Danis was booked to face Colby Covington in a submission-only grappling match at the top of the Rome card. On Sunday, Danis withdrew. According to Bloody Elbow, nobody has said why. Raul Rosas Jr., the UFC bantamweight contender, jumped into the open slot, so Covington now grapples a kid who is a lot younger and a lot hungrier than the guy he spent fight week expecting.
The rest of the card leans heavily on bare knuckle boxing, including Francesco Morandi vs. Ali Heibati. Toka Gaz and Joilton Lutterbach meet in a dirty boxing bout.
Where McGregor has been
The short answer is the couch. McGregor has kept a low profile since July, when he ended a five-year layoff with a rematch against Max Holloway at UFC 329. That return lasted 69 seconds. Bloody Elbow reports his knee blew out almost immediately, and Holloway finished him by TKO. He has been rehabbing that knee ever since. Rome will be the first time the public sees him since he left the Octagon in July.
Quick take
I’ll give McGregor this: nobody in combat sports can walk into a room on crutches and still make it about him. His teammate leaves the main event a man short, and two days later Conor is posting like he bought the Colosseum. The “take over Rome” line also comes stapled to a betting sponsor, so read it as a paid appearance with very good lighting. That’s fine. He’s earned the right to cash checks. What bugs me is Danis. He’s had a career’s worth of trash talk and very little cage time, and he just left Covington hanging days before the main event with zero explanation. Until somebody explains it, fans will assume the worst, and he’s given them plenty of practice. The best thing that could happen Tuesday is Rosas Jr. turning this into a scramble-fest against Covington, with McGregor cageside losing his mind like a Celtic fan at a pub. Hype FC Rome goes Tuesday, and Covington vs. Rosas Jr. headlines.
