Nobody should be shocked by this. This isn't about winning, this is about making McGregor look good. They have a lot invested in that guy and the reason company man Cowboy was selected for the comeback.
So many better fighters out there who would love to smash McGregor and could hype the fight with all kinds of material but that's too risky. The stipulations were to stand and bang and don't bring up any dirt that's happened outside the cage. McGregor is a valuable commodity to the UFC and they want to squeeze as much out of his career as they can.