Conor McGregor issues four-word DEFIANT statement on injury as Dana White refuses to discuss new UFC return date

CONOR MCGREGOR made a defiant promise after being forced to pull out of a fight for the first time in his UFC career.

The Irish was supposed to return to the Octagon on Sunday morning, in the main fight of UFC 303, in Las Vegas.

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But a broken toe in one of his final sparring sessions before heading to Sin City derailed his long-awaited showdown with fellow fan favorite Michael Chandler.

MMA experts and fans now have serious doubts about Mac’s return coming to fruition.

But The Notorious is adamant he will return to the octagon, recently writing in Instagram along with a post about his 40-second knockout victory over Donald Cerrone: “I’ll be back.”

McGregor, 35, now hopes to return before the end of the year. summercounting SeriousMMA last weekend: “August, September, I would love [that]. I’m in recovery mode.

“It was three weeks ago, it happened three weeks ago today. I’m still here rocking the flip-flops.

“Luckily, they’re not bad slippers and they’re comfortable enough, but I still can’t put on a shoe.

“They put stem cells in my foot.

“They came and took it from behind and put it on my foot, 20 mg of stem cells from my own back, from the bone marrow to the fracture.

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“My damn toe is sore and I don’t know if the stem cells in the fracture were the right move.

“Because you know how girls put fillers in their faces: my fucking toe looks like this.

“I don’t think it’s the swelling anymore. I think it’s just the stem cells from my toe.”

UFC CEO and president Dana White, however, refuses to begin setting a new date for McGregor’s return until he gets clearance from doctors.

The 54-year-old said: “I won’t do anything until I know Conor is healthy.

“It’s not even worth talking about.

“What about September? What about October?

“He’s not ready. So why talk about it?”

He added: “I’m not thinking about Conor fighting anyone right now.

“I have no deadline, I have nothing.

“McGregor isn’t even cured yet. McGregor is injured.”

Former two-division champion McGregor hasn’t set foot in the Octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier almost three years ago.

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