Conor McGregor has insisted he feels like he can kick again after suffering a horror leg break in his defeat by Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 – and also admitted his road to recovery ‘has not been easy’ and left him feeling ‘upset’.
The outspoken McGregor sustained a grizzly combined break of the tibula and fibula at the end of the first round of his trilogy bout against Poirier in July, and has since been recuperating and working on his fitness after surgery.
He recently paid a visit to New York to present at the MTV Music Video Awards, where he bizarrely confronted rapper Machine Gun Kelly, and provided a reporter with an update on his fitness and future aspirations.
Conor McGregor reveals he feels he could ‘kick right now’ during his recovery from a leg break
McGregor had sustained combined break of the tibula and fibula at the hands of Dustin Poirier
During the interview, McGregor admitted he is already raring to return to action, but plans to listen to the advice from his doctors to ensure his break fully heals.
‘I feel like I could kick right now,’ McGregor told Adam Glyn. ‘I honestly feel like I could kick right now, but I’ve just got to listen to the doctors, listen to the people that are guiding me.
‘That’s what I’ve done so far, I’ve committed myself to the work and I’m back on the feet. It’s so good to be back on the feet.’
The outspoken fighter has regularly updated his followers while he tries to regain his fitness
McGregor’s first-round stoppage loss at the hands of Poirier was his second against his nemesis during their three fights to date, and the grim fallout saw him direct personal insults at his family, including his wife.
As a result, McGregor’s state of mind has been questioned by some, and the Notorious has admitted that his injury lay-off has taken a toll.
‘I was upset for a little while, it’s not been easy,’ he added. ‘There’s been a few ups and downs on this, it’s probably one of the wildest things that’s ever happened to me in my life.
‘It’s not been fun, smooth sailing, but I got through it. I’ve had my family, my close team by my side, and we’re getting there.
McGregor was able to walk again recently and is already targeting his return to the Octagon
‘Still a long way, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, like I said I feel like I can kick now, I’m not advised to kick yet. But I’m gonna get back. You think a broken bone is gonna stop me? Think again.’
He is also planning to set an example to his children during his recovery, saying: ‘I left my son, I was jumping and [doing] 360 flips and then the next time he sees me I’m in this seat and I can’t walk and that was kind of playing on me a little bit.
‘But then as the weeks have gone by and recovery, I’m getting better and stronger and my son and my children are seeing it. He can see the work I’ve put in and he can see the rewards and I know that’s going to rub off well on him.
‘He’s going to be able to see his father put the work in and you rise back to your feet.’
After his loss by Poirier and injury lay-off, McGregor admitted he was ‘upset for a little while’
McGregor, meanwhile, has been advised to take a ‘tune-up fight’ against Nate Diaz before a potential fourth showdown with Poirier, in order to ‘blow off the ring rust’.
Diaz inflicted McGregor’s first professional defeat back in 2016 with a choke submission triumph, but the Irishman exacted his revenge with a win later that year.
The duo have often been linked with a trilogy scrap of their own, and Bisping admitted he wants to see it happen.
‘Hopefully, we see that fight,’ Bisping said on the Believe You Me podcast.
Michael Bisping (right) says McGregor should take a ‘tune-up fight’ before facing Poirier again
‘I’m not sure if he wants to come back, Conor I’m talking about, after what’s probably going to be about a year’s lay-off and fighting Dustin for the third time.
‘You kind of want to get your whistle wet. Find your mojo, blow off that ring rust. Nate would be the guy. Then, if Conor beats Nate, then he fights Dustin, because, you know, they are going to do a fourth fight.
‘The fourth fight will be absolutely massive, but I think if I was Conor’s manager, if I was advising him, I would say “take a tune-up fight”, you know what I mean?’