Conor McGregor suffered a brutal leg injury in the hugely anticipated trilogy bout inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 264. In what was an unfortunate outcome for the fight, McGregor’s horrific injury definitely sheds light on the brutal nature of the sport.
While the injury certainly looked like it was accidental, Poirier claimed in the post-fight interview that he heard a cracking sound in the opening minutes of the fight considering McGregor was kicking hard leg kicks.
Also Read: “It’s Terrible” – Jon Jones Concerned for Conor McGregor’s Future After Brutal Leg Injury at UFC 264
Poirier claimed that McGregor cracked his ankle early in the first round, and the twist in the closing moments of the round led to the fracture. However, there’s every reason to believe that McGregor broke his ankle due to the twist while trying to land a vicious bomb on Poirier, and looking at the ferocity with which McGregor was throwing his strikes.
Meanwhile, several fans have come out with their own footage of when and where McGregor actually suffered the first impact on his ankle which led to the broken leg in the closing moments of the first round.
How did Conor McGregor break his leg at UFC 264?
According to a fan theory, McGregor hurt his ankle while falling back in the process of defending a flurry of shots that seemingly hurt McGregor making the Notorious go for the clinch.
I think it’s possible Conor hurt his ankle here as he’s falling back #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/oRqv3EiUlQ
— JazzyDude (@SpaceCowboy1346) July 11, 2021
If we take a look at the above footage, it’s quite clear that something did indeed happen with McGregor’s ankle there. However, it’s hard to imagine that a small twist could eventually lead to the broken leg considering McGregor was down on the ground for most of the fight and broke his ankle soon after he got up from a vicious ground exchange from both the fighters. Additionally, it’s important to note that McGregor threw a straight front kick as soon as he got up from the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb5WOBgbXGc
“He fractured it in one of the checks at the beginning of the fight. Then it broke on a punch, yeah, for sure.” Poirier said in the post-fight Octagon interview.
One can also argue that the amount of time McGregor spent with Poirier in the mount position, and the urgency with which Poirier got back into action as soon as referee Herb Dean asked the Notorious to stand up, could have left McGregor’s leg numb.
Needless to say, using the same leg to front kick his opponent, and then throwing a punch by leading with the same left leg could also be the reason why his leg snapped in the closing moments of the first round at UFC 264.
Coach John Kavanagh claims Dustin Poirier’s elbow shattered McGregor’s leg at UFC 264
In a new revelation, McGregor’s longtime coach John Kavanagh claimed that it was Dustin Poirier’s elbow that shattered McGregor’s leg in the closing moments of the first round.
“He very aggressively threw that kick, Dustin shelled with the lead hand and the foot wraps around the knee in a similar fashion like poor old Silva and Weidman, they wrapped their shin around. He wrapped his shin around his elbow.”
Kavanagh said the first front kick that McGregor shot soon after getting up was blocked by Dustin’s elbow, which led to McGregor’s broken leg at UFC 264.
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