Last week, on his ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show on ESPN MMA, verbose UFC analyst Chael Sonnen claimed that the reason Conor McGregor had pulled out of UFC 303 was not because of an injury. Instead, ‘The Bad Guy’ had claimed that “Conor McGregor is in rehab for alcohol and drugs and that’s why the fight was canceled.”

This apparently incensed McGregor, who took to X to respond directly to ‘Uncle Chael’. ‘Mac’ posted photos and even an X-ray of what seemed like a broken pinky toe, along with an acerbic caption insulting Sonnen, to prove that he had indeed pulled out of the Michael Chandler bout over an injury and not because he was in rehab.

“Chael shut your pie hole, h*e. You tap from ground and pound,” McGregor wrote along with the images. This post by McGregor is in fact the first real, tangible evidence of his injury. It is unclear what made Sonnen claim that the Irishman was in rehab, but the lack of any details about his injury and his silence on the topic would undoubtedly have been a reason the former middleweight title contender made the claim.

UFC 303 will be the first time that MMA’s biggest superstar has pulled out of a bout, having even fought injured at times, as he did against Chad Mendes in 2015, rather than withdraw and disappoint his fans. However, some such as former two-division champ Henry Cejudo felt that ‘Mac’ pulling out was a good sign since it showed that he is taking the fight very seriously and wants to be at his absolute best before he makes his comeback.

McGregor’s rebuke coincides with Sonnen’s backtracking on his initial claims, likely shutting down any remaining speculation about rehab.

Sonnen walks back Conor McGregor in rehab claims

Chael Sonnen, after receiving backlash for his McGregor-rehab claims, has already climbed down from them, even before the Irishman’s tweet with proof of his injury. On the latest of his ESPN MMA YouTube show, he clarified, “I do not know that Conor is in rehab.”

However, the former UFC star had not closed the door on the Irishman really being in rehab and spoke at length about how much he would appreciate McGregor and not belittle him if he had indeed gone to rehab to deal with any alleged substance abuse problems he may be suffering from.

“I would not begrudge or tease Conor in the least if he was in rehab. I would be very proud of Conor, and I would imagine for somebody in his spot, to go into rehab is something you want to keep quiet. To do that in Ireland, I would imagine that he would have needed to humble himself greatly,” Sonnen told co-host Daniel Cormier.

But, now that Conor McGregor himself has provided undeniable proof of his injury, it is safe to say that Sonnen’s claims can be brushed aside, and there can be no doubt that ‘Mac’ pulled out of UFC 303 due to an injury. What are your thoughts on McGregor’s tweet?