It was as horrific an accident as any that could befall a fighter on top of the cage. Your leg breaks on you while in the middle of a fight. Not that we haven’t seen this happen before, but even when it does, you still cringe and shudder in horror.
UFC 264. There was a lot at stake for Conor McGregor on the night of this trilogy. He was coming off a loss to Dustin Poirer and UFC 264 was supposed to be a redemption of sorts for “The Notorious One.”
All that saber rattling was definitely not going to waste if he could help it.
As the fight began, Conor immediately got to work trying to land jabs, left straight and uppercuts. For the most part he was partially successful, but Poirer got in his share of licks too.
Conor also was quite aggressive with his kicks surprisingly enough. Perhaps he wanted to send a message early to Poirer, who had battered his leg badly in the second fight.
Poirer was able to defend himself well, and the exchanges appeared innocuous enough. But what transpired in these opening minutes would eventually prove to be determinative of the outcome of this battle.
About midway through the round, Conor was able to snap on a guillotine choke, but as they went to the ground, Poirer was able to extricate himself and immediately start dishing out some ground and pound.
A few seconds before the round ended, both fighters got to their feet. But as McGregor switched stances and attempted to throw a left straight, his left ankle gave as he stepped back.
He immediately fell to the ground, his left leg unable to support him and Poirer pounced. He managed to survive till the horn sounded but unfortunately was unable to get up, and the fight was ruled a stoppage in favor of Poirer.
BREAK. Post-fight there were many theories on what happened to Conor’s leg. As of this writing he has apparently had a successful surgery with an intramedullary rod inserted to his tibia with screws and plates attached to the fibula.
Poirer claimed he had checked one of McGregor’s kicks and this was when the break happened. Replays would show that Poirer indeed managed to land an elbow just as Conor was kicking. There was also some footage of Conor’s foot appearing to land awkwardly on Poirer’s knee which could also have potentially caused the break.
Whatever the cause everybody seems to be in agreement that there were already micro-tears and fractures leading up to that final sequence where he stepped back and twisted his left leg as it broke.
END. I really feel bad that it ended the way it did for Conor. As fight fans, we don’t wish any fighter to get hurt and lose a fight in that manner. But how he comported himself post-fight while he was lying there with a broken leg during the interview was utterly off-putting.
He insulted Poirer and his wife and looked like a pathetic beaten fighter. I have high regard for Conor as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. He has achieved so much despite having a limited ground game. But I wish I could say the same for this character. This is a guy who insults his opponent’s family members, their religion and packed on a gang of thugs on a plane to attack Khabib Nurmagomedov inside a van. He even struck an old man at a bar.
Deep inside, this guy is a thug through and through, and “The Notorious One” epithet couldn’t hold any truer.
On the fight side of things, this could be the beginning of the end for him. It will take months—perhaps another year—before we see him back on the octagon, and he would have to crawl his way back to the zenith of the sport, a feat I am not sure he might have the skills to achieve.
LAST ROUND. It’s on Dylan Lois Macion, lovely daughter of dear friends Jhoren and Fiscal Benjo, who recently turned 17. Happy Birthday and Cheers!