Conor McGregor has detailed how he is now prepared for the worst five years after suffering a horror injury and finally booking a UFC comeback.
Former two-weight world champion McGregor last competed in the summer of 2021 at UFC 264. On the night, every fighter’s worst nightmare happened as he suffered a snapped leg a round into his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier that not only cost him the fight and their series, but threatened his career.
He is now preparing for a rematch with Max Holloway that will serve as the main event of UFC 329 on International Fight Week in Las Vegas on July 11. Interestingly, he suffered a similarly devastating ACL tear early in their 2013 meeting, which required surgery and a lengthy time on the sidelines.
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Conor McGregor opens up about potential ‘worst case scenarios’
After a lengthy period completely sidelined, Conor McGregor returned to training for a comeback fight three years ago. He has had multiple training camps and even booked a June 2024 date with Michael Chandler, but was forced to pull out with a broken toe.
Now, he looks set to really return, and spoke with former United States Navy SEAL Rob O’Neil in an exclusive chat surrounding his new beverage Mac Energy. The pair sat down on the mats at his home gym, where they ran over just how serious the Irishman is about his comeback.
“Now as I have become a lot more experienced in the game I actually work backwards towards the perfect scenario,” he explained. “So I have had a limb break inside the octagon, and now I must have an answer to that.
“I have the perfect scenario, you knock them out with the big backhand, the crowd roars. But then I have the worst case scenario, the shoulder dislocates midway through the first round, what’s my mechanisms?
“The knee dislocates in the first round, what’s my movements, my reactions? Do I switch the stance or go to my back? I have a whole selection of responses to the worst case scenarios. Not that I sit and dwell on them, or overthink them, but I just have them.
“So if the ankle goes, if the knee goes, if the shoulder goes, what’s my response? Because the fight’s not over… If you have a maneuver, you can outlast and you can survive in there and you can work towards the victory.
“I have found as I have gotten more experience in the fight game to work my way backwards from the worst case scenario, to the best case scenario. And then focus and prepare for the best case scenario. That’s where I’m at right now. I have every situation that may occur and my answers to them.”