After weeks of rumors and speculation, Conor McGregor has finally come clean about the injury that forced him out of his UFC 303 fight with Michael Chandler.
McGregor revealed in an Instagram post on Friday that he suffered a broken toe in training and shared pictures of the injury on X.
“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, adding that he needs only “a few weeks” to recover.
Still, McGregor didn’t offer a timeline on his return but expressed a desire to finish the final two fights on his UFC contract. He raised doubt about Chandler being one of his opponents.
Man we were so f*cking super ready for this fight it is absolutely gut wrenching to take. 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. 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. 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. #McGTheRealBMF #McGregorForever #GoingNowhere
Chael shut your pie hole, hoe. You tap from ground and pound. pic.twitter.com/456tZnEnYI
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 21, 2024
Doubt about McGregor’s status was first raised when a scheduled June 3 press conference in Dublin to promote his UFC 303 headliner with Chandler was canceled just about 12 hours before it was set to begin. Various reports only fueled speculation about a potential McGregor injury until he confirmed it Friday.
McGregor’s remark that he will return against “Chandler or not” is likely to make the former Bellator lightweight champion feel uneasy. McGregor and Chandler have been penciled in to fight each other ever since they signed on to film Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in early 2023. Chandler has sat idle waiting for the McGregor fight for almost two years.
How much longer it’ll be until McGregor returns is up in the air. UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, England, and UFC 305 on Aug. 18 in Perth, Australia, both have main events booked, leaving UFC 306 slated for Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas as the first realistic date for a potential McGregor comeback fight.
McGregor, who turns 36 next month, hasn’t competed since a July 2021 injury TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in which he broke his leg at the end of the first round.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
