Conor McGregor has revealed his blistering rant at Dustin Poirier came about because he feared his career was over.
The Irishman had been bitter in the build-up to their third fight at UFC 264 in Las Vegas, and was heading towards the second round when he broke his leg while stepping back from a kick. And he claimed while lying in his hospital bed that it was a fear of losing fighting forever that caused his enraged reaction after the bout.
McGregor declared the pair's feud was "not over" and threatened to attack Poirier after the bout, as well as making crude comments towards his wife Jolie. But in new footage from his soon-to-be-released Netflix documentary 'McGregor Forever', he declared that he was in a dark place when he took aim at his rival.
"I thought it was over as well," McGregor told the documentary crew when they suggested that the injury could be a career-ending one. "That's why I flipped into a different mind, a different mode. Now, it was the adrenaline as well and I know I would have calmed down.
"And part of me was thinking 'ah Jesus imagine it was just taken from me like that', I would go into a different place and become a different person and it was a bit scary to be honest. But, it's McGregor forever, that's it isn't it? It's McGregor forever and don't you forget it."
The Irishman is now on the mend, and should be announcing the date for his comeback fight with Michael Chandler imminently. The pair have already filmed the new season of The Ultimate Fighter, which featured McGregor's long-time pal Lee Hammond, in Las Vegas to be aired next month on ESPN in America.
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McGregor was forced to 'retire' from MMA in the books of USADA; the UFC's Anti-Doping agency, while he recovered from his broken leg, and testing for his return is the last hurdle to making the Chandler fight official. The Irishman has said that he hopes to be back in action towards the end of the summer if all goes well.
The Irishman is a legend of the sport, and despite losing all but one of his fights since 2016 and maintaining a difficult and inconsistent schedule is still the biggest star by a wide margin. His return against Chandler is expected to garner massive pay-per-view interest and earn both men significant payouts.
It could also land either one a title shot, be it at welterweight where they will compete, or lightweight where they have spent most of their recent careers. McGregor is a former lightweight and featherweight world champion, and is keen to win an unprecedented third belt at 170lb after bulking up during his two years off.
