Conor McGregor's fighting days may very well be behind him.

Much has happened over the past four years away from competition for the former UFC two-division champion. Over recent months, in particular, McGregor was found liable in a Dublin civil court case for a 2018 sexual assault and hit with another civil lawsuit for an alleged sexual assault in Miami in 2023. Just this past week, McGregor also dropped multiple racial slurs in an unhinged tirade against former UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Outside of some dismissive comments from UFC CEO Dana White, the company hasn't issued any extensive public responses or repercussions regarding McGregor or his future, leaving the door open for a possible return despite no timetable. Speaking Tuesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," former UFC star Chael Sonnen assessed the situation the promotion faces with its biggest-ever draw.

"Historically speaking, whatever is going on with the criminal courts all the way down to if you're dismissed or you got a trial coming up, whatever it is, the organization will recognize that's between you and the courts," Sonnen said. "But whatever the final [verdict] with the gavel [coming down], we're going to go on that. Whether we think you're innocent or [guilty], we're going to honor what the courts do. That's historically, but that is not clearing over to civil, and it's really never been tested to this degree.

"It was very different when it was [a] civil [trial], and the intent was not to punish him by taking his time and freedom away, it was to have him write a check to you. It was just one of these things where nobody really knew how they were going to handle it, and then the ultimate suggestion is to go to Dana and say, 'Hey, you've got to release the guy.' And Dana has a hard time explaining to the audience, like, 'Hey, if I'm personally pissed off at the guy, if I release him, there's nothing — I have no ability [to do anything]. Right now I've got him under contract, and if I'm personally upset with him, I don't have to [book a] fight [involving] him — which, by the way, I'm not.'

"And Dana explained that to a degree, but he was letting people know, like, it's not a matter of 'release Conor and let Conor go somewhere else,'" Sonnen continued. "If I release him, he goes somewhere else, he becomes a big star for somebody. He's with me and I'm not using him, he's sitting in Ireland watching the show on pay-per-view like everybody else. There's a level of that which makes a lot of sense."

Although McGregor has been sidelined, he's remained in the combat sports scene by buying a piece of ownership in BKFC. "The Notorious" has repeatedly proclaimed his desire to compete in bare-knuckle boxing under the BKFC banner, even staging in-ring faceoffs with Mike Perry and Jeremy Stephens.

McGregor, 36, is still under UFC contract though. He suffered a second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier after sustaining a grisly broken leg in his most recent Octagon appearance in July 2021. His big return was then scheduled for UFC 303 in June 2024 opposite Michael Chandler, and the pair even coached against each other on "The Ultimate Fighter 31" to hype up their potential matchup. But just two weeks before fight night, McGregor withdrew from the bout, claiming to have broken his pinky toe.

Despite White's continued optimism — however mild it may be — for a possible McGregor return, Sonnen believes the UFC 303 blunder will play a big part in why another McGregor fight never materializes.

"He pulled out of his last fight, which was a record gate," Sonnen said. "He beat all of his own gate records. They had $25 million waiting for them for the live gate and they still had $2 million worth of tickets to sell. I'm just sharing — he is over and he is a star, and he was very much needed, and he pulled out of a fight. He pulled out of a [UFC 303] press conference where they took an American company to Ireland, played the video game like everybody had set up shop. I mean, it's a big deal to leave them hanging right there. The official reason he did that is for a discolored pinky toe, which may or may not be broken and may or may not be his. He didn't take a picture of himself with the toe. He took a picture of a toe and posted it online — and it was discolored, red, purple, and I'm sure it was very sore — but with no evidence that it was broken or any evidence that it was even his.

"If you pull out of a fight because of a discolored pinky toe, which may or may not be yours, it may or not be broken, you're not fighting again. That's just the truth."

Bare-knuckle boxing hasn't been the only form of combat to pique McGregor's interest during his UFC absence. Really, it's seemingly been anything but MMA, as McGregor also had the influencer boxing carrot dangled in front him by Jake and Logan Paul.

McGregor famously transitioned to boxing for his 2017 spectacle match against Floyd Mayweather. Since then, the Irishman has repeatedly discussed interest in doing something like that again, but would need to receive permission from the UFC as long as he's under contract.

Regardless, Sonnen isn't interested in that either — and he says that as someone who competed in a novelty boxing match of his own as recently as June 2024.

"I don't [want to see McGregor box the Paul brothers]," Sonnen said. "A lot of that, though, would come from jealousy. I mean, if I was to look at it and go, 'Hey, wait a minute, you can make $100 million boxing guys that aren't even boxers,' there's going to be a part of me that looks at it like that — you're going to pull out of a fight against Chandler, do what you did to Chandler, and then you're going to fall forward into something? I don't want that to be true. I want to be above that. But there would be a part where I go, 'Wow, it's just not generally the way that game is supposed to be played.'

"Whatever adult allows Conor McGregor to return with the same exact injury that Chris Weidman had," Sonnen continued, "Chris Weidman being possibly the most disciplined guy in the sport, Conor being the most undisciplined guy in the sport, Chris Weidman doing everything right, from rehab to taking his time to focusing to being at home at night and going to bed and getting rest on his leg — he did everything right, and did not return as somebody that could follow the basic rule, which was to protect himself at all times. Right? That hindered, repaired leg was that big of an obstacle. But we're supposed to believe that Conor not only can return from the same thing, he can return better? And we know we think he's going to be better, because we're not booking him in three-round fights. We're booking him exclusively in five-round main events, so he is going to have to perform at a much higher level than 'The All-American.'

"The laws of logic disqualify that. The basic rule is protect yourself at all times. Conor McGregor is not in a position with anybody under contract at the UFC to protect himself at all times. It's a silly proposition, and that is just the truth. That is just the truth. There's not another way to say it. I also want in on the Conor business. I also want to cover him and have him back, and it's different when he's there. I acknowledge the fun. But if you're talking about any level of responsibility, you can't book him — and you definitely can't book him in a five-round fight. That's insane."