Former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division titleholder Conor McGregor claims he had “multiple fractures” in his shin before his technical knockout loss at UFC 264.
Conor McGregor claims ‘multiple fractures’ in shin before UFC 264
In his most lengthy statement since breaking his left tibia and fibula inside the T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday, McGregor took to his Instagram to update fans on his health, following his release from a Los Angeles hospital yesterday–on his birthday no less. In the six-minute video, the 32-year-old claimed he had multiple stress fractures in his left shin before he entered the Octagon, and that there was talking between his team and the UFC about pulling out of his main event trilogy fight with long-time rival Dustin Poirier.
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“I was injured going into the fight. People were asking me, ‘When was the leg broke; at what point did the leg break?’ Ask Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage,” McGregor said. “It was debated about pulling the thing out because I was sparring with no shin pads and I kicked a knee a few times. So, I had multiple fractures in the shin bone above the ankle.”
As “Notorious” went further down the rabbit hole of taking part in a fight despite having a shin with several stress fractures, he also alleged that he’s had issues with his left ankle for years. Stating that in that time, he often continued to train despite the soreness, and developed the intimidating striking off his back that made Poirier “back away” from engaging further on the ground during their clash.
“And then I have trouble with the ankle anyway, throughout the years of f*cking fighting all the time. I was wrapping my ankle every training session. I’ve even done a lot of training sessions where the ankle was sore, [and] I still wouldn’t stop training. I would just train on my back,” McGregor said.
“That’s how I developed those ground-and-pound shots from the back. That’s why Dustin backed away. And I was landing the upkicks and the elbows. It’s a horrible place to be in when you’re against someone like me. It takes so much effort to land shots from your top position, and while you’re trying to do that you’re losing energy. You’re getting lumped out by my downward elbows and vicious upkicks.”
Over the course of their one-round fight, Poirier landed 28 of 46 (61%) ground strikes on McGregor and was awarded a 10-8 round on two of the three judge’s scorecards. The Octagon-side doctor stopped the fight before the second round after discovering the breaks in McGregor’s leg. Giving Porier a technical knockout victory and the rubber match in their trilogy.
One-half of the UFC’s seven best-selling pay-per-views explained that he would have never gotten the injury surgically fixed if not for what happened at UFC 264.
“I never would have committed to going under the knife unless something like this happened,” McGregor said.
McGregor’s ankle rolled and broke after returning to his back foot after a missed punch late in the opening round.
UFC President Dana White confirmed yesterday that McGregor is likely out of action for the next year.
