Conor McGregor’s decision to withdraw from UFC 303 with a broken pinky toe continues to divide fans, but he’s got Joe Rogan on his side saying it was the right call.
McGregor has a history of fighting through some pretty gnarly injuries to stay on cards — beating Chad Mendes with a blown knee gets brought up a lot. Less included in the conversation is when things went horribly wrong: Conor was told leading into the third Poirier fight that he had micro-fractures in his left leg. He still fought, and we all saw how that ended. So that may be why “The Notorious” has declared he’ll never fight injured again.
In this specific case, UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan agrees with that mindset.
“Look, here’s the thing about a broken pinky toe,” Rogan said on the JRE Fight Companion for UFC Saudi Arabia. “When you’re a guy who kicks as much as Conor, it’s a f—ing problem. And it’s also the same foot where his leg was snapped, and he went into that fight injured.”
“He’s never pulled out of a fight before, this is the first one he’s pulled out of, and I think it’s wise. I think if you do have a broken toe, and you are going into a fight, and you did go into the last fight injured — what if that f—ing toe becomes a real issue? What if he throws a kick and it smashes again and he’s in agony and he can’t move?”
Rogan also noted that movement is a huge part of McGregor’s game, and that would be essential to beating Michael Chandler.
Conor McGregor talks about no longer giving “little bums” an advantage by fighting injured.
“Now I’m dialing it in. I’m getting this training camp correct. I’m walking in there 100 percent Conor McGregor. Injury free.”
(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/n4qGq7S7SH
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 22, 2024
“You gotta be able to get the f— out of the way with Michael Chandler,” he said.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what people think of the decision. What’s done is done, and UFC 303 on June 29th will go forward without Conor McGregor competing. When will he be back? McGregor has said he’d like to be rebooked around August or September. UFC CEO Dana White said he’s not even thinking about scheduling a new date until Mac is fully healed.
Are we about to embark on another drawn out stretch where the UFC slow plays McGregor’s comeback? Or is this just Dana being careful after Conor bounced on a $30+ million gate? Let us know what you think in the comments below, Maniacs.
