Conor McGregor's plans to avenge his January 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier in their eagerly-anticipated trilogy fight this past Saturday at UFC 264 did not go to plan.
Not only did the Irishman lose via doctor's stoppage to his American rival, but UFC president Dana White has revealed that McGregor is expected to be a full year away from being ready to fight again.
“I think they just released him right now from the hospital about 10, 15 minutes ago,” White told TMZ in an interview published Wednesday.
“He’ll be in L.A. for a little while, and I don’t know if he’s going to fly home or what he’s going to do from there. He’ll be back in a year, yeah.”
Such a long lay-off for a fighter who has been linked with retirement many a time due to his huge financial successes in and out of fight sports could massively dent his chances of ever coming back.
However, he and Poirier both seem intent on delivering a fourth instalment of their head-to-head series, given how disappointing the unfortunate finish in Las Vegas was for all involved.
Poirier, nonetheless, has the win on his record and could well be lightweight champion when McGregor is able to come back. He is in good standing to challenge reigning champion Charles Oliveira in the near future.
Meanwhile McGregor says he was not at 100% for the fight in the first place.
"I was injured going into the fight," he said on Instagram (warning: explicit language).
"Ask [UFC President] Dana White, ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. ... I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage."