Conor McGregor (22-5) has revealed he has developed contingency plans for serious in-fight injuries ahead of his UFC comeback against Max Holloway (27-9) at UFC 329 on July 11, five years on from the leg break that derailed his career.
McGregor last competed at UFC 264 in July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. It is not the first time he has been struck by serious injury, as he suffered a torn ACL is his first fight with Holloway back in 2013, but was able to fight through the injury to win a unanimous decision.
McGregor had previously been scheduled to return against Michael Chandler in June 2024 before withdrawing one day before the press conference because he said he has a broken pinky toe. His bout with Holloway is set for the main event of UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. McGregor explained how his approach to fight preparation has evolved, and that he’s ready to withstand any injury that may occur.
“Now as I have become a lot more experienced in the game I actually work backwards towards the perfect scenario. 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?”
“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,” McGregor
Provided McGregor comes through without any injuries, he is looking to remain as active as possible. His manager, Audie Attar, confirmed as much.
“I could tell you he’s looking to stay active. I could tell you that we had planned for a ‘season’ during the COVID period, and that never got going, unfortunately. So this is the new season, and he’s definitely looking to stay active. We’re definitely looking forward to to not only this fight, Max Holloway, July 11, and then that next fight, and we’re not gonna wait a year, that’s for sure.”