We know now exactly why Conor McGregor couldn’t make it to his next fight with Michael Chandler.
Billed to be “the greatest comeback in sports history”, the Irish UFC superstar was supposed to headline UFC 303 next Saturday after three years away, following his gruesome broken leg injury suffered in his last fight against Dustin Poirier in 2021.
Despite dealing with multiple injuries throughout his fighting career, McGregor had never pulled out of a fight, but there’s always a first time for everything with “The Notorious” having to withdraw from his welterweight bout with Chandler just a few weeks out.
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McGregor has only spoken lightly on the matter, not revealing too much about what transpired during training camp… until now, that is, with the former champion blaming the fight cancellation on a broken toe.
“Man we were so f***ing super ready for this fight it is absolutely gut wrenching to take,” McGregor wrote of his withdrawal on Instagram. “I want that new Bugatti how I gone justify to myself getting that now without banking these fights. We had a lapse in concentration and engaged in a training session without wearing the full protective gear and I hit the toe off the elbow and broke the toe clean.”
Not everybody was under the impression that McGregor was injured, and that includes his American counterpart Chael Sonnen. The former UFC title challenger turned media mogul insinuated that McGregor might have been in rehab as a result of his drinking.
“What incredible irony that both sides have these massive interests in alcohol and one side is in the middle of rehab for substance abuse including alcohol, not that that has anything to do with this,” Sonnen told Daniel Cormier on a recent episode of Good Guy / Bad Guy (h/t: MMA News).
“Chael shut your pie hole, hoe,” McGregor responded to Sonnen’s claims on ‘X’, posting pictures of his broken toe. “You tap from ground and pound.”
Chael shut your pie hole, hoe. You tap from ground and pound. pic.twitter.com/456tZnEnYI
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 21, 2024
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With McGregor vs. Chandler yet to be rescheduled for later this year, McGregor says his road to recovery won’t take long and details his decision to not make the walk to the Octagon on June 29th.
“It needs a few weeks that’s it,” McGregor said of his broken toe. “I couldn’t justify to my team, or fans, that I make the walk hindered again. That walk has been seen. This next walk has got to be, and it will be, 100% Conor McGregor. The fans deserve it and we are getting close. A slight lapse in concentration and a nuisance of an injury was picked up. That’s it. Take the lesson and move forward.”
“I will get this back. I’ve got too. I’ve got two fights left on my contract. I’ve got Bugattis and more yachts on my mind. I’m coming to shine. I gotta just take my time. Cos I still got yachts and Bentleys and mansions and all the rest. Ya know yaself. But ya get me, I’ll be back. See ya’s soon. See ya at the top. Chandler or not,” McGregor said of his next opponent.
Michael Chandler has been waiting for a legacy fight with Conor McGregor for quite some time now. While the former Bellator Champion has been more than patient in the last two years, he has recently hinted at taking another fight in the meantime – with UFC CEO Dana White greenlighting the idea below.
Dana White says Michael Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor:
“I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor man.
If he wants to get a fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever worked with.”
🎥 @jimrome #UFC303… pic.twitter.com/g1SGCV3cBs
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 17, 2024
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