Conor McGregor Postponed Upcoming Fight Over Broken Toe, And Some Fighters Aren't Pleased
It wasn't only the biggest fight of the year, but perhaps one of the most looked upon comebacks in recent fight history, as legions of fans were awaiting the return of UFC superstar Conor McGregor after a near three-year absence on June 29th at UFC 303.
Everything was seemingly going perfectly - McGregor was supposed to fight Michael Chandler in Conor's home city of Dublin, Ireland; both fighters appeared to be ready to go, until one of them wasn't.
McGregor would pull out of the much-hyped fight due to "an injury," which he has now revealed over a week later to be a broken pinkie toe on his left foot - something other fighters are ripping him on.
"You don't need a pinkie toe to fight. LOL. Chicken," UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev tweeted after McGregor revealed his ‘injury.’
MCGREGOR VS CHANDLER HAD MILLIONS OF FANS READY FOR IT
To be fair, McGregor's broken toe comes on the same leg and foot that he broke in horrible fashion when fighting and losing against Dustin Poirier in Conor's last fight at UFC 264 in 2021.
But does a broken toe - in what had to have happened three-plus weeks ahead of the scheduled bout really warrant UFC 303's massive headliner fight to be postponed? The arena gate was LITERALLY over 20+ million dollars, and diehard Conor McGregor fans literally paid thousands of dollars to see him fight - they even tweeted us so!
According to Conor it does as he is adamant that the pinkie toe injury must heal before he can fight again.
"Man we were so f'n super ready for this fight. It was absolutely gut-wrenching to take. 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," McGregor wrote on his social media accounts.
"It needs a few weeks that’s it. 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."
Interestingly enough, McGregor had choice words at the end of his post when he didn't guarantee it would be against his original opponent in Michael Chandler.
"I'll be back. See ya's soon. See ya at the top. Chandler or not," McGregor finished his statement with.
PREDICTION: LOOK FOR CONOR MCGREGOR TO FIGHT AT UFC 306 AT THE SPHERE
In a "you can't make it up" moment, McGregor and Chandler's replacement fight will include Alex Pereira - who also has a foot injury. He will now fight Jiri Prochazka in the UFC 303 headline event.
As a Conor McGregor fan - I wish him the best in his recovery. However, it is very frustrating to continue to see him not compete. Obviously, injuries are a legitimate reason.
But something tells me we should be paying attention to Conor McGregor's return in the UFC octagon in Las Vegas at UFC 306 at Las Vegas's Sphere. I'm not saying, but I'm saying… that would be quite a comeback, no?