Conor McGregor accused of photoshopping dramatic body transformation photos as he targets UFC return in early 2023
CONOR MCGREGOR has been accused of photoshopping pictures of his hulking new frame.
The UFC’s poster boy has used his 16-month hiatus from the octagon to hit the gym and put on slabs of lean muscle mass.
Some of McGregor’s recent photos have astounded many, so much so some believe they’ve been edited to make him look bigger than he actually is.
Popular YouTuber More Plates, More Dates came to that conclusion, which three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen agrees with.
Sonnen said: “Derek, More Plates More Dates came out and did a piece on Conor McGregor.
“I’m paraphrasing, but he said the photos that he’s putting out are photoshopped. That’s where I’ve got to stop you.
“Did we not know that? I assumed you knew that.
“Do you guys not know that those photos of big, strong [McGregor], do you not know that those are photoshopped?
“I had no idea that this was a belief or an assumption in the community. Have you not known that from the beginning?
“I never knew you guys believed these photos.
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“Those are photoshopped. I thought the world knew this.
“I have got to tell you, I’m a little bit stunned on that. It makes you a bit of an idiot.
“You have got kids in high school that can tell you when something is photoshopped.”
Baseless controversy has surrounded McGregor’s transformation as it occurred during a period when he’s not been subjected to drug testing from the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
McGregor, 34, hasn’t been tested since the third quarter of 2021, although he plans to return to the USADA testing pool next year.
But Sonnen is refusing to put two and two together to make five, recently saying: “Conor comes out and he looks big.
“Then it gets revealed that he’s not in the USADA testing pool.
“That’s not what you saw in those pictures. You saw a guy who was bloated. So he’s retained a lot of water weight.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier last July.
But he feels primed and ready to return early next year, saying during a recent Instagram Q&A: “I’m going to be back soon, hopefully.
“Early 2023 I’m aiming for. Sometime in that first quarter. That will give me a good couple of months [to prepare].
“Once I wrap this up in a couple of days, get the camp going [for] a good couple of months. And get going.”