Conor McGregor looks unrecognizable in latest photos

Conor McGregor is one of those celebrities who manage to look different almost every time they post on social media. For an MMA fighter competing in the UFC though, constantly being in and out of shape is not the most desirable lifestyle, and the likes of Paddy Pimblett have been criticized for their constantly fluctuating weight in the past as well.

McGregor recently took to Instagram to share his Friday lunch at his bar called The Black Forge Inn in Dublin, Ireland. Alongside the expected pictures of food, supporters, the UFC belt, and his car, fans were amazed to see a relatively lean version of McGregor in the images as he wore a McGregor Fast tracksuit.

With his beard trimmed down and a haircut, McGregor's face and body look slim and it's hard not to notice the stark differences in his physique.

What makes this transformation even more surprising is its sudden nature. Just a few weeks back, McGregor was promoting his movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, Road House, and as the psychotic enforcer Knox, he was as bulky as we've ever seen him.

Is Conor McGregor finally paying attention to his weight now?

On the March 20 episode of Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour, McGregor admitted to not touching a scale once since his last fight against Dustin Poirier which took place on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264.

And for the most part since McGregor's last fight, fans have noticed that he looks bigger than usual, leading to occasional rumors that he might fight Chandler at 170 or 185 pounds. On New Year's Eve, he posted a video on Twitter claiming that the "biggest comeback in sports history" will take place on International Fight Week on June 29, against Chandler at 185 pounds.

Despite the superstar seeming more confident than ever in such announcements, nothing has been official until now. On top of that, McGregor looking a lot like his lightweight version has yet again given fans hope that he'll return at 155 pounds.

Thanks to the sheer amount of amazing contenders, lightweight is easily one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC right now. The return of McGregor and Chandler, two of the most popular and explosive fighters in the division, would certainly shake things up for the better as the winner of their bout could enter the title race.

The return of McGregor against Chandler wasn't announced at the UFC 300 press conference. If McGregor is finally cutting weight to get back in fight shape though, the announcement could be a lot closer than we know.

However, it's hard to speculate a lot just from a social media picture, so take everything with a huge grain of salt.