Conor McGregor has vowed to hit opponents with a lead hook that will put them in a "coffin box" when he returns to the cage next year.
The Irishman has been out of action for over a year since he broke his leg in gruesome fashion against Dustin Poirier in July of last year, and has remained in the headlines throughout his recovery battle. Now seemingly on the brink of being cleared to return to sparring, McGregor has been vocal about his plans for a comeback.
He has shared old sparring footage and been getting into it with fighters up and down the weight classes on social media, with the spotlight never too far from his vicinity. And he has recently shared a clip on Mark Hunt knocking out Stefan Struve despite a 14-inch height difference, indicating that he plans to use Hunt's style when he returns.
"The little run he done post his back hand landing was absolute apple juice!" McGregor wrote in response to a video of the knockout from March of 2013. "Nice shot! I’m going to lead hook coffin box people when I get back with this exact same motion. Clean. #martialarts #fighting #AllIThinkAbout."
McGregor will return to action at welterweight, not the lightweight division where he made history as world champion in 2016. He has not yet named an opponent, but has expressed a keen interest in getting a fight for an unprecedented third world title at 170lb, although he likely won't fight Leon Edwards.
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Former champion Usman losing the title to Edwards at UFC 278 in a shock defeat has likely cost McGregor that opportunity, given that the Nigerian will be entitled to an immediate rematch. Heading into the fight, Usman was seemingly unbeatable and with a win would have beaten three of his top ten contenders on two separate occasions each, allowing him room to move atop the division.
There was also a long-standing rivalry between McGregor and Usman that dates back years, with the pair going back-and-forth at various points on social media. Usman was in attendance when the Irishman beat Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020, but coronavirus restrictions cost the Irishman a year of action and he lost his two return fights in 2021.
McGregor will have been out of action for almost two years due to his injury by the time he does make his return to the cage, and he is still not even sparring full contact as yet.. He has, however claimed that his injury is a "distant memory" and promised fans in a recent Twitter Q&A session that his "leg is now a lethal weapon."
