36-year-old Conor McGregor was all set to make a return to the Octagon in the recently concluded UFC 303 event. However, a toe injury forced him to pull out at the last moment, much to the despair of the fans. ‘Mystic Mac’ faced a lot of criticism from many former experts who claimed he was faking the injury. However, the former dual-champion is up and running, as revealed by one of his posts on Instagram. McGregor also gave an update on his injury recently as he revealed that his toe is now healed.

Considering the latest happenings surrounding the 36-year-old, a former UFC fighter who had been critical of the former champion’s injury, right from the beginning, offered an interesting take.

UFC insider claims of shielding Conor McGregor after his UFC 303 withdrawal

Conor McGregor has been out of action for quite some time now after suffering a devastating leg injury. It’s been more than three years since the Dubliner has fought inside the Octagon. It looked like he would finally return to action against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but the fight never happened. What followed was a barrage of criticism from experts, which included Chael Sonnen as well. But listening to his latest claims, it seems he is taking his words back. The 47-year-old took to his YouTube channel to claim, “I thought the toe injury was a work from jump Street.” 

He further agreed to the fact that he indeed was the first one to comment on the toe injury and felt he was faking it. Sonnen said, “I thought that Conor was in rehab and I came out and told you guys this toe injury is garbage. He’s in rehab. So it ain’t like that. Apparently they are rehabbing the toe. They are rehabbing the injury to the toe. They are not rehabbing any kind of a substance.”

What followed next might come out as a surprise for many as the former fighter revealed he was trying to protect the Dubliner and said, “Now I wasn’t looking for clicks. I was trying to cover the guy. I was trying to give him a little bit of shielding right.” Previously, Sonnen was very critical of the Dubliner and even pointed out that he was never serious about the fight.

Despite McGregor posting a picture of his hurt toe, Sonnen was not satisfied as he continued questioning the authenticity of the injury. In one of the episodes of the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ podcast last month, the veteran had said, “McGregor’s not hurt. I don’t know if we’re making TV or supposed to play along. Conor McGregor is not injured and it’s a very tough spot when the people that come out speaking for him, they don’t want to cover because the truth always comes out.”

Conor McGregor has now recovered and is ready to make a comeback to the octagon. However, initially, there was uncertainty among the UFC world regarding the former champion’s return, with some even predicting his retirement. When the news of his injury spread across the news, many felt that the Dubliner might not make a return in 2024. But what exactly happened to him? 35-year-old Beneil Dariush is the right person to answer the question.

Beneil Dariush knows exactly why Conor McGregor pulled out of his fight

When Conor McGregor highlighted that a broken toe was the reason behind his pull-out, most fans seemed surprised. How can a broken toe stop a fighter like Conor McGregor from fighting? Well, 35-year-old Beneil Dariush faced the exact problem and empathized with the Dubliner. The 35-year-old has racked up a couple of losses inside the Octagon but also faced his share of injuries.

While speaking to ‘Submission Radio’, he shared the details of his injury which was pretty similar to ‘Mystic Mac’. He said, “I had the same exact injury Conor had. The only difference was where my toe broke was where the foot connects… It was like the foot and the pinky toe and then one more toe broke just from a push kick.”

The lightweight contender then pointed out how he struggled during the injury and could not move. While the 35-year-old is currently recovered from the injury, he still remembers the pain he faced. ‘Benny’ said, “The problem was all the inflammation went into my foot and I literally couldn’t walk. So if I can’t walk, I can’t fight, I can’t make weight, I can’t do anything.”

McGregor used the same expression to describe his pain when he appeared at an event for BKFC in Ireland. Currently, the 36-year-old is up and running and the fans want to see him back in action soon. Do you think Conor McGregor will fight in 2024? Let us know in the comments below.