UFC megastar Conor McGregor has had a rise to the top like no other. The former two-division champion has achieved superstardom for himself while dishing out vicious knockouts in the process. A giant brand that he eventually became, Conor couldn’t manage to escape the famous proverb – “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
Over the years, the Irish superstar has arguably garnered as many controversies as the wins on his resume. However, if anything, it only appeared to make him seem invincible. Standing the test of time, Conor’s fame and prosperity have only grown fight after fight, regardless of wins or losses.
In July 2021, Conor was heading into what was probably the biggest trilogy in the UFC. ‘The Notorious’ made quick work of Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 in 2014. ‘The Diamond’ then seemed to get one back when the duo locked horns at UFC 257. Their rivalry was finely poised at 1-1 heading into UFC 264’s rubber match.
However, the bout ended in a way that nobody would have imagined in their wildest dreams. McGregor broke his lower left tibia, which deemed him unable to even stand up, let alone continue. This led to Poirier winning their highly-touted fight via TKO, a result Conor stans debate over till this day.
It is worth mentioning nobody except Conor and a few teammates know he was heading into the fight with a compromised leg. In the recently-released docuseries titled, ‘McGregor Forever,’ Conor shines a light on the same.
“This whole thing? With the ankle, like? Maddest thing,” Conor says. “When I made that walk, I’m knowing something was gonna happen to my ankle. Like, I was testing it at the Octagon and I was stretching it. I was like, first kick, I could feel it.”
What went down at UFC 264? Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier
UFC 264 was a star-studded event that took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was thought that the two would settle their score in the July 2021 event. However, it ended in unfortunate circumstances.
With no touch of gloves, Conor came blazing with two spinning back kicks to the body. This time, he wanted to right the wrong regarding their 2nd showdown. Thus, McGregor came with his own calf-kick game during this time. In a round that fans seemingly argue Conor won, the Irishman had quite a few moments.
#UFC264 Official Scorecard: Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor
View All Official Scorecards: https://t.co/DVjnvBTkEF pic.twitter.com/VVbUk1KJGJ
— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 11, 2021
Right from his kick-heavy offense to an attempted jumping guillotine, Conor seemingly came in with an aggressive game plan. Dustin then connected on a series of elbows and had Conor in serious trouble at one point.
After getting the fight back to their feet, Conor attempted a left and missed. When he planted, his leg seemed to have shattered, crashing him down to the canvas. Dustin saw what happened and took advantaged by trying to put Conor away with a barrage of shots. The horn saved the Irish star at the end of the round.
The Lafayette native scored a 10-8 round on 2 out of 3 judges’ scorecards. He went to secure the W via TKO due to a doctor’s stoppage.
UFC 264: Dustin Poirier Vs Conor McGregor 3 Say After BREAKING His LEG 2021 pic.twitter.com/LNVtOkJ6uw
— jamaice (@djjamaice) July 11, 2021
While in agony and pain, the officials took Conor out on a stretcher. But this happened only after the Dublin native went on to give one of the wickedly-memorable post-fight interviews.
Conor’s Road to Recovery
Nearly two years out of action, Conor has had a long way to recover. An injury that was once considered to have potentially ended his career, McGregor didn’t lose hope. The Irish megastar received extensive treatment and underwent surgery following the brutal injury.
Conor McGregor shared details following his leg surgery after #UFC264
(via @TheNotoriousMMA)pic.twitter.com/QUEg7ARHVE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 12, 2021
Conor’s obsession with being in great shape tremendously helped him during that time. In a situation where most would have given up, Conor started hitting the gym with a plastered leg, sharing his routines on social media over the years. Thankfully for him and his fans, the healing process has been progressively quicker than anyone’s anticipation.
Audie Attar, Conor’s manager, shed light upon this in an interview with SubSport. He said, “We not only got out X-ray results back, but we got the ultrasound and CT scan results, and when I look at the X-ray myself, he’s healing wonderfully,”
“I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage. It was debated about pulling the thing out.”
Conor McGregor describes shin and ankle injuries he says he had heading into #UFC264 (via @TheNotoriousMMA) pic.twitter.com/0BgO3lOXpD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 15, 2021
By November of the same year, Conor appeared to put on 30 pounds as part of his recovery. He famously took to Twitter to share the same. Many medical experts have confirmed that similar tibia fractures have ended MMA careers. However, Conor made the miraculous recovery appear far from painful.
Right now. 85kg of muscle. No fat. https://t.co/FnqrBqvNPk
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 27, 2021
In an interview with Barstool Sports, Conor said, “I’m blessed I had the best care and attention to it medically, thank you to the UFC and doctors for working on me. I had the best surgeons, doctors and I got it back thank god and I am already back better than ever. I’m excited to be back, and the bionic knee and I have been dropping the guys with the back shot, I have been dropping them all.”
Dana White reveals “CONOR HAS CHRONIC ANKLE ARTHRITIS.” Was it Correlated to Conor’s leg injury from UFC 264??
😷👇Here is my Medical Breakdown#conormcgregor #danawhitehttps://t.co/x7JaU08DHy pic.twitter.com/4diqk19Wfq
— David Abbasi, MD (@DrDavidAbbasi) July 21, 2021
While on the sidelines, Conor secured a role in a major Hollywood flick titled, ‘Road House.’ Aside from that, he has also finished shooting as one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 31 against Michael Chandler. Conor will be looking to recover from having fallen in 3 of his last 4 bouts. The Irish icon will take on Chandler in the welterweight division. However, a date and venue haven’t been decided upon just yet.