More People Are Reacting to The Real Reason Conor McGregor Withdrew From UFC 303

Highlights

Conor McGregor broke his toe and had to withdraw from UFC 303, leaving fans gutted.
Fellow fighters like Rafael dos Anjos, Belal Muhammed, and Cody Durden react.
The timeline for McGregor’s return remains uncertain, leaving speculation rampant.

Former UFC double champion Conor McGregor pulled out of UFC 303 due to an injury and he’s finally revealed what exactly the injury is. According to McGregor, he broke his toe and couldn’t fight Michael Chandler since he wasn’t 100 percent himself. “Man we were so fucking super ready for this fight it is absolutely gut-wrenching to take,” he wrote on Instagram. “I want that new Bugatti how I gone justify to myself getting that now without banking these fights. We had a lapse in concentration and engaged in a training session without wearing the full protective gear and I hit the toe off the elbow and broke the toe clean. It needs a few weeks that’s it. I couldn’t justify to my team, or fans, that I make the walk hindered again. That walk has been seen. This next walk has got to be, and it will be, 100% Conor McGregor. The fans deserve it and we are getting close. A slight lapse in concentration and a nuisance of an injury was picked up. That’s it. Take the lesson and move forward.”

Now his fellow fighters and even some of his past opponents are reacting to the injury news. One of those people is UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev who tweeted, “You don’t need a pinkie toe for a fight lol. Chicken,” Makhachev and McGregor have been at odds since his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov and the aftermath following that fight.

Rafael Dos Anjos Trolled Conor McGregor

Rafael dos Anjos compared his injury to Conor McGregor’s

One of McGregor’s former would-be opponents also reacted to the news. Rafael dos Anjos was supposed to fight McGregor in 2016 but broke his foot and was pulled from the fight. At the time, McGregor criticized dos Anjos for pulling out. He’s since tweeted several times about McGregor’s injury, seemingly gloating in the irony. “That’s the difference between me and you Conor, you finally got exposed,” he tweeted. “You got a pinky toe injury while I got a broken foot. Let me know what you guys think on the comments below.” The pair never got to fight and perhaps he’s working on eventually still getting that fight someday.

Fellow fighters Belal Muhammed and Cody Durden also weighed in on the injury.

A sports medicine doctor also weighed in on the injury. “That fracture line goes obliquely through the shaft of that proximal phalanx of the pinky toe, and there is a little bit of displacement. It’s very rare to need a surgery for an isolated lesser toe fracture, and I do not suspect that McGregor needed surgery,” said Dr. Brian Sutterer to MMA Mania. “Was this an injury warranted of McGregor withdrawing? Yeah, I think so. Absolutely. It’s not a fracture that’s going to have that drastic of an effect on your mobility compared to a great toe or a big toe fracture where you’re pushing off and you’re putting a lot more weight through it.”

What’s Next for Conor McGregor?

Despite revealing the injury, the timeline for McGregor’s return is still unconfirmed. Everyone seems hopeful that the fight could be rebooked by the end of the year but even UFC president isn’t all that confident. He told Jim Rome he isn’t sure what the next steps are for McGregor. “That’s a great question, Conor’s going to be 36 in July. He’s got plenty of money. I don’t ever think that guys like that, Jon Jones, who knows, maybe he’ll fight again, maybe he won’t. Conor McGregor, maybe he’ll fight again, maybe he won’t,” he said. “You never know with some of the guys that get to that level. You never know if you’re ever going to see them again.”