Three weeks from the day on which Conor McGregor suffered a broken toe, he is eager to get back into the cage as soon as possible.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was present on Saturday at the 3Arena in Dublin to Bellator Champions Series to corner teammate Sinead Kavanagh on the main card. McGregor revealed behind the scenes for Severe MMA that her toe is still causing problems despite stem cell treatment.
“We just adjusted,” McGregor said. “Everything is moving. Everything is moving parts, so I’m fine. The injury is a nuisance. It’s painful. I’m not going to lie. It’s very, very painful – probably even more than the leg, and that’s the truth. I’ll tell you why: the leg was at least wrapped. I couldn’t access it. The foot is still there. It’s like it’s exposed or something. It’s a little painful, but it’s part of the territory. I just need to dial in and get my training pitches right.”
McGregor, who still wears flip-flops to ease the pain of moving due to the injury that caused him to withdraw UFC 303 against Michael Chandler, said he plans to return sometime in the next two to three months. The UFC nor its CEO, Dana White, have shed any light on their hopes or plans for this return.
“August-September… August-September, I would love to,” McGregor said. “You know how it is. I’m in recovery mode.”
Regardless, McGregor feels he did the right thing by pulling out of the fight, especially since the last time he competed was in 2021, when he fractured his leg in a fight against Dustin Poirier. It wasn’t an easy choice, McGregor said.
“The UFC has been stellar,” said McGregor. “They really went above and beyond for me. I’m really grateful for that because I was in a dark place. Now I’m fine. I am arriving. I am fine. I’m getting there again. I’m ready to go again – soon. I am very grateful for them helping me. I’m sad for the fans who wanted the entertainment of the pay-per-view and the press conference and the pay-per-view and the card and everything. But see, it was just one of those damn things.
“How could I justify doing that walk again and then standing still with my feet flat on the ground and then telling my fans, ‘Oh, this happened, but I did the walk for you’? The fans saw this. I can’t do this again. If you’re paying this much, you deserve to see the best of me. So that’s what they’re going to see. It’s up to me now, my team of coaches and my team of training partners to really step in and make sure that happens – and I’m confident we will.”
