Watch Conor McGregor in never-before-seen sparring with middleweight after teasing move up in weight ahead of UFC return

NEW sparring footage of Conor McGregor has been released ahead of his impending UFC return.

The Irishman is in training for a comeback fight in 2023 having spent over a year on the sidelines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyloWSm3ArEConor McGregor sparring with a middleweight[/caption]

During that period of recovering from a brutal leg break, McGregor has evidently put on size.

So much so the ex-featherweight even voiced ambitions of moving up to MIDDLEWEIGHT.

He tweeted: “I’m gonna give middleweight a got at some point 100%.”

McGregor, 34, followed it up with: “I’m a big fridge at middleweight. But hot like oven same time, ye know yourself, catch it on PPV.

“Don’t know tho. It be hard work. Those rounds against those middle/lhw, they were alternating fresh each round.

“I’ve put in psycho work doing this job over the years.”

McGregor added fuel to the fire after his media company, The Mac Life, uploaded a sparring clip onto YouTube.

It is titled: “Conor McGregor spars a middleweight.”

McGregor won titles in both the 145lb featherweight and 155lb lightweight divisions.

And he also had a hat-trick of welterweight bouts at 170lb, losing and beating Nate Diaz, 37, as well as a knockout over Donald Cerrone, 39.

McGregor has teased returning at welterweight but has never ventured as high as 185lb at middleweight.

The former two-weight champion has been out since July 2021, when he broke his tibia against Dustin Poirier, 33.

But even UFC president Dana White is in the dark about McGregor’s exact return and shot down a fight with Michael Chandler, 36.

He said: “I never said that, ever, f****g once.

“This is what happens when you do interviews and people listen to your interviews.

“They said, ‘So, if Conor McGregor came back right now, who would you be looking at as an opponent?’

“I said, ‘Well, if he did, if that happened, and that scenario played out right now, Chandler would be a fun fight.’

“Never f***ing once did I say Conor McGregor versus Chandler.

“I don’t even know when Conor McGregor’s coming back. And this is why I don’t like to answer these kinds of questions.

“Because some f***ing idiot somewhere on the Internet puts out that that’s what I said, and it’s not even remotely close to what I said.”

UFC president Dana White pictured with Conor McGregorGetty