Conor McGregor stands up Stephen A. Smith, ditches ESPN appearance

Maybe he didn’t hear the bell ring?

Troubled MMA champ Conor McGregor shockingly stood up broadcasting great Stephen A. Smith yesterday morning, Page Six has learned.

The two-time UFC champion — who has been doing the rounds to promote his comeback fight in July after five years outside of the ring — was booked on Smith’s ESPN morning show “First Take,” we’re told.
But the Irishman was a no-show at the network’s Hudson Square studios, according to sources familiar with the debacle.

When we contacted the fighter’s team, they offered no explanation for him ghosting Smith.

The tale has something of a familiar ring to it. In 2023, we reported that he ditched another Disney-owned show, ABC’s “Good Morning America” — though, in that case, the reason was more clear.

McGregor had been booked for at least a week to appear on the show but, we reported at the time, his camp made an early-hours call to producers to say he wasn’t going to make it.

A few hours later, TMZ reported that an unnamed woman had accused McGregor of sexually assaulting her at Game 4 of that year’s NBA Finals. He denied the allegations and the charges were later dropped.

McGregor, who has had 22 wins and six losses in his career, is set to return to the UFC Octagon next month in Las Vegas. He’ll fight Max Holloway in “a rematch 13 years in the making,” Sports Illustrated wrote, after McGregor beat him in a 2013 bout.

McGregor also announced in this round of media appearances (the ones he made it to) that he will follow up the Holloway fight with another in July 2027, against an as-yet-unnamed opponent.

Reps for ESPN didn’t comment and a rep for McGregor didn’t get back to us.