Conor McGregor was forced from UFC 303 due to injury, the former UFC champ has a return date in … [+] mind. (Photo by Dave Benett/WireImage)
The UFC will be at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 29, for the UFC 303 pay-per-view card. The fighter who was set to be the showcase competitor at the event, Conor McGregor, will not fight on that night. The former two-division UFC champion was forced from the card due to injury, but McGregor has his eyes on a return date that is not too far off.
McGregor was set to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but a broken toe suffered during training camp prevented the Irish fighter from making the walk to the Octagon.
McGregor spoke about his injury and his potential return to action during Saturday’s Bellator event in Dublin, Ireland.
“I’m still here rocking away,” McGregor said. “I had a little lapse in concentration, so I had to reschedule the belt, so I’m a little upset about that. But it’s keeping me dialed in. It’s keeping me focused… The job is not done. So that’s not bad for someone like me. I’m onwards towards the new date and take my lessons learned.
“It was a lapse in concentration. If I was any one of these other little bums that can’t move, that have no footwork, that don’t rely on their skills, then I would be OK. And I’ve done it before. I’ve made the walk a multitude of times in those circumstances and given these bums an advantage over me that they don’t even deserve. So now I’m dialing it in, I’m getting this training camp correct, I’m walking in there 100 percent Conor McGregor, injury free. Perfection is on the menu with me, and that’s it.”
The former champ spoke in more detail about the injury and his return after the Bellator event.
“The injury is a nuisance. It’s painful,” McGregor told Severe MMA. “I’m not going to lie, it’s very, very painful. Probably even more painful than the leg, and that’s the truth. And I’ll tell you why, the leg, at least, was wrapped up. I couldn’t access it. The foot is just there still, it’s like it’s exposed. So it’s a bit painful but it comes with the territory.”
“August, September, I’d love [that],” McGregor said. “I’m in recovery mode. It’s three weeks to the day, it happened three weeks ago today. I’m still here rocking around in the slippers. They’re not bad slippers, thankfully and they’re cozy enough but I can’t get into a shoe yet.”
McGregor has not fought since he suffered a badly broken leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. McGregor’s return to action was eagerly anticipated, and pre-event ticket sales for UFC 303 had the promotion looking at a UFC record gate of more than $20 million.
On Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White said of McGregor’s comments about a potential return, “I don’t know right now. Our schedule is laid out. So, we’ll see. I’m not doing anything until I know that Conor McGregor is healthy. It’s not even worth talking about until, you know, what about September? What about October? He’s not ready. So, why even talk about that?”
UFC 303’s new main event is a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Alex Pereira and former champion Jiri Prochazka.
