The Notorious has spoken out
Conor McGregor says he was already injured going into his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
McGregor lost for a second time to The Diamond, a broken ankle scuppering his chances of getting one over Poirier at the end of the first round.
Poirier was on top for much of the first round, taking advantage of gaps in McGregor’s guillotine to unleash his superior grappling skills.
It looked like Poirier’s ground-and-pound would spell the end for McGregor, until he took a step back on his left ankle.
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The pain was clear to see as an agonising grimace washed across the Irishman’s face.
However, in a video posted to Instagram, McGregor said he was already injured going into the fight.
Speaking from a motorised scooter while sporting a heavily-bandaged leg cast, McGregor said:
“I was injured going into the fight. People are asking me, ‘When was the leg broke? At what point did the leg break?’
“Ask Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage.
“I was sparring with no shinpads and I kicked a knee a few times.”
McGregor added that he is likely to be out for a while, “not a few weeks or months”, with Dana White today confirming he is unlikely to fight again for at least a year.
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After the fight on Saturday, The Irishman insisted the result be announced as a “doctor’s stoppage”, but many were quick to point out that this is still considered a TKO regardless.
McGregor also courted controversy by hurling insults at Poirier and his wife Jolie.
“Your wife is in my DMs”, claimed McGregor when interviewed by Joe Rogan after the fight.
Poirier was visibly incensed and had to be restrained, while Jolie gave The Notorious the middle finger.
These actions – and comments – have not gone down well with many in the MMA world.
UFC President Dana White said: “I don’t like that. Yeah, that’s not good. Leave people’s families and wives and all that stuff out of it. Family has nothing to do with it.”
Dustin Poirier's wife Jolie flipped off Conor McGregor in the aftermath of the fight 👀 #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/WfgVXmkQzc
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 11, 2021
In a fiery interview with MMA Junkie, Ali Abdelaziz laid into McGregor. Abdelaziz is an MMA manager, promoter and ally of Khabib Nurmagomedov, a long-term rival of McGregor’s.
“The guy acts like this (invincible) gangster, but he’s really not.
“Look at guys like Khabib (Nurmagomedov), Dustin Poirier (and) Daniel Cormier. They use their power for good. They help other people. All this guy does is hurt people.
“Listen, this guy has a family. By doing this, he’s hurting his own family. Who wants to be the son of this kid? Nobody wants to be the son of someone like him.”
However, that wasn’t the most incendiary comment made about McGregor by Abdelaziz. He was also referred to as a “prostitute” used by UFC fighters to build hype around their own careers.
“I don’t really care about him. He’s easy money,” said Abdelaziz.
“I hope he’s healthy. He can come back (and) fight (Justin) Gaethje, Islam (Makhachev), or Beneil (Dariush).
“He’s an easy payday for everybody. He has become, like I said, a prostitute. Guys use him right now for hype. That’s it. Because he’s easy money.
“He cannot beat anybody in the top 10 or the top 15. He cannot compete with these guys anymore. He cannot.”
