Conor McGregor claims he will never lose another MMA fight.
The former dual-weight champion was supposed to return from a three-year injury layoff to take on Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29.
McGregor vs Chandler is expected to be rebooked for later this yearCredit: Getty
However, the fight was called off last week due to a training injury.
After several days of intense speculation, McGregor finally revealed that he had broken his pinky toe and needed a few weeks to rest up before returning to fight camp.
‘Notorious’ has fought with much worse injuries.
However, it didn’t go well after he broke his toe before fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov or when he suffered a stress fracture in his leg ahead of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.
So, he has vowed to never fight injured again. The 35-year-old believes that if he enters every match-up with a clean bill of health, no one will be able to beat him.
“I will never enter a fight hurt again and I will never lose another fight,” McGregor tweeted on Saturday.
The UFC legend made his bold career vow after being mocked by several MMA stars for refusing to fight with a broken toe.
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria had the harshest assessment of the situation.
McGregor’s injury is a minor one, but he wants to be fully fit for his comebackCredit: @thenotoriousmma – instagram
Topuria was one of several UFC stars to mock McGregorCredit: Getty
“You are mentally broken,” he wrote on X. “That is your biggest lesson. You doubt yourself, your abilities, your preparation, that’s why you don’t show up. You are a b****.”
Islam Makhachev, who is the UFC lightweight king and a long-time friend of McGregor’s rival, Nurmagomedov, couldn’t resist taking a pop at the Irishman.
He added: “You don’t need a pinkie toe for a fight lol. Chicken.”
Former 155lb champion Rafael dos Anjos was famously scheduled to fight McGregor at UFC 196 in March 2016, but he was forced to withdraw after breaking his foot in training.
‘Mystic Mac’ bashed dos Anjos at a subsequent press conference, saying: “It’s a bruise. I’ve heard ice works wonders. Ibuprofen.”
The Brazilian has finally got his own back eight years later.
Dos Anjos was keen to rub in his rival’s woundCredit: Getty
Sonnen had a pop tooCredit: GETTY
Dos Anjos tweeted: “That’s the difference between me and you Conor, you finally got exposed. You got a pinky toe injury while I got a broken foot.”
Retired middleweight and light heavyweight title contender Chael Sonnen also took a pop at McGregor, who referenced him when releasing pictures of his injury online.
Sonnen incorrectly claimed McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303 was because he was currently in rehab, and he doubled down after MMA’s biggest star proved him wrong.
“You can listen to my account which builds and helps Conor McGregor,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Or you can listen to Conor’s account which makes him look like a little b****.
“[Conor] would prefer that you see him as a little b**** who can’t fight because he’s got a sore toe.”
McGregor’s long-time teammate, Peter Queally, recently told talkSPORT MMA that the plan is to rearrange his friend’s fight with Chandler for September.
Dana White is currently organising what he claims will be the ‘greatest live sports event of all time’ for the Las Vegas Sphere, which will host UFC 306 on September 14.
It certainly makes sense for the UFC’s biggest card yet to feature the greatest legend MMA has ever produced.