Doctor Defends McGregor’s Toe Injury Withdrawal – ‘It’s A Pinky Toe, But Still’
A prominent doctor, Dr. Brian Sutterer, has defended Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from UFC 303 with a broken toe.
The Irishman pulled out of his highly anticipated comeback, which was said to go ahead on June 29 with the injury. The news meant that McGregor has not been in the Octagon since 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The news drew a lot of backlash from the MMA community. Some felt that McGregor had simply pulled out because he did not believe he could actually win the fight.
Islam Makhachev, the UFC Lightweight Champion, called McGregor a chicken for withdrawing. Such an injury would usually take around two weeks to heal. However, other fighters, such as Alex Pereira, defended McGregor, stating that they were not in his position to say whether it was the correct decision. But it is important to bear in mind that Pereira had reportedly broken his toe around two weeks before he faced Jamahal Hill at UFC 300. However, Pereira went through with the fight, knocking out Hill in the first round to defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title.
McGregor’s Problems
The problem McGregor faces is that he struggles to keep himself disciplined outside of the Octagon. He has been seen drinking his Forge Irish Stout and having cigars, which could come back to haunt him. This is especially true since McGregor suffered a career-threatening injury against Poirier with a broken leg. Other fighters have shown that they were never the same following such devastating injuries. Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva are a few names, as they were not the same upon their return.
There is also an argument that McGregor is wasting the final parts of his career, as the Irishman is now 36 years old. He still has two fights left on his UFC contract. McGregor is missing out on potential other ventures he could pursue. He is a power owner of the BKFC, as the Irishman stated that he wants to fight under the promotion. Meanwhile, there are still big boxing fights out there for him, potentially against Manny Pacquiao, a Floyd Mayweather Jr. rematch or even a fight on a Misfits. But the doctor defended McGregor, stating that it was a wise decision to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
Doctor Responds
“No [I wasn’t surprised] because of the time point he’s at in his career. I think he’s at a stage where his next fight is extremely important, if there is a next fight. So I can absolutely understand him not wanting to go into a fight somewhat compromised. I mean yes, it’s a pinky toe, but still. You’re putting all that weight on the outside of that toe and it’s going to hurt.
“And if your foot hurts to the point where you can’t adequately defend yourself, perform at a high level, no one cares about your pinky toe if he ends up losing that fight. So I 100 percent understand, I think it was justified. If it was a different situation though where a fighter had one chance only, then it would be safe. There’s a difference between things that are safe to try to fight through, and things that could cause pain and potentially hinder you,” Sutterer said
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