Conor McGregor was in attendance for Bellator Dublin last night, and offered a unique explanation as to why his recovery might not be smooth sailing.
The former UFC double champion was forced to withdraw from his UFC 303 main event fight with Michael Chandler due to a broken toe – and admitted at a recent MMA event in Ireland that his treatment options might have made the injury worse.
Conor McGregor concedes Stem Cell treatment made injury worse
Speaking via the SevereMMA YouTube channel, Conor McGregor revealed that in the hope of shortening his potential recovery timeline, he’d experimented with Stem Cell Therapy as a treatment option for his broken toe.
“I’m in recovery mode, it’s three weeks ago to the day and I’m still here rocking around in the slippers – they’re not bad slippers thankfully, they’re cozy enough but I can’t [even] get into a shoe yet.
“They put Stem Cells – I’ve done everything that they asked – they put Stem Cells into me, took it from my back and put it in my foot, 20mg Stem Cell from my own back from the bone marrow in. Right into the break.”
McGregor shared that after injecting Stem Cells directly into the toe break, doctors also applied the treatment to his shoulder; with one proving outstandingly successful, whilst the other concerningly could have made matters worse.
“And then there was a little bit left over, so I said, ‘Yeah lob it into my shoulder, it feels a bit sore’ and my shoulder is actually feeling amazing – that Stem Cell’s good stuff, eye-opener…
“But my f***** toe is sore mate, and I don’t know if the Stem Cell’s into the break was the right move.”
The former UFC double champion described the now-injected broken toe as akin to “the way the chicks put filler in their face; my f***** baby toe looks like that.”
Earlier this year, the UFC announced a partnership with Cellular Performance Institute, one of the world’s leading stem cells and regenerative medicine companies working in the US.
“I don’t think it’s the swelling anymore – I think it’s just the fluids, or Stem Cells in my toe,” explained Notorious.
“So, I’m like ‘Am I going to have a f***** swollen toe all the time now?’” he questioned, before noting that “I’m just recovering man, day by day.”
‘Notorious’ offers update on timeline for UFC return
Whilst it remains unclear whether this experimental treatment option has indeed made the injury better or worse, McGregor is hopeful that the recovery period isn’t as prolonged as fans first predicted.
When asked when he’d like his return fight to be, McGregor went straight to the point: “As soon as – August, September I’d love,” adding that he hopes Michael Chandler remains his intended opponent.
Whilst Notorious has been criticized by both his old opponents and the wider MMA community for the manner in which the UFC 303 fight with Chandler was pulled, veteran commentator Joe Rogan believes McGregor made the right call.
“Here’s the thing about a broken pinkie toe. When you’re a guy who kicks as much as Conor, it’s a f***** problem. It’s also the same foot where his leg was snapped, and he went into that fight injured…
“This is the first [fight] he’s pulled out of, and I think it’s wise. If you do have a broken toe and you are going into a fight… What if that f***** toe becomes a real issue. What if he throws a kick and it smashes again and he’s in agony and can’t move?”
UFC 303 is now headlined by Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka 2.