Conor McGregor was watching closely as Alex Pereira continued his historic run in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The Irishman was due to headline UFC 303 at the T-Mobile Arena against Michael Chandler, who was in attendance on the night after insisting that he had signed a contract to appear and must honour it. McGregor was forced out of the fight by a broken toe, which saw him postpone their bout indefinitely.
McGregor had previously admitted that he was finding it mentally difficult to watch on from the sidelines as his comeback card was overtaken by a new event. And he wasn’t able to keep his eyes off the show, even with the main event ending at almost 6am in his native Ireland.
- Who is Alex Pereira? Get to know the MMA brawler as he lands yet another massive KO at UFC 307
Conor McGregor delighted by Alex Pereira’s win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303
A stunning display from Alex Pereira saw him put a full stop on his feud with Jiri Prochazka in his second title defence of the year. The Brazilian first dropped his rival with a punch at the end of the first before stopping him with a head kick in the second.
Such a victory, coupled with his ability to take short-notice fights such as Saturday or UFC 300 has made him an even bigger star. And while it was clearly tough for Conor McGregor to watch someone else take his spot in the main event, he was sure to pay tribute to Pereira on social media.
In a brief post to his fans on X, McGregor shared a sad emoji and a round of applause. He wrote, seemingly in reaction to Pereira’s victory, a simple message that read: “Left High Kick”. He then shared a pair of recent training pictures with the caption “Thank you, God.”
Earlier this week, he admitted how much being away from this fight week was hurting him. In an emotional post, he wrote: “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t in deep pain right now watching fight week take place.
“Deep mental pain. Thank you for the messages of support and encouragement, my peers and fans”.
Conor McGregor wants quick injury turnaround – but Dana White isn’t so sure
While at Bellator Dublin last Saturday night to corner Sinead Kavanagh, McGregor claimed that he was keen to be back in the octagon as soon as August. He is still currently nursing the toe injury and fears a stem cell injection may have made it worse, but wants to recover quickly.
“It’s tough, but we keep it dialled in,” McGregor told SevereMMA on the night. “The injury, I’m not going to lie, is painful, it’s very, very painful. Probably even more painful than the leg and that’s the truth. I was in a dark place. I’m alright, I’m getting there again, I’m ready to go again.”
However, while chatting with Barstool Sports this week, UFC CEO Dana White was asked whether McGregor would be back in August, September or October. He quickly responded with “none of the above,” pouring cold water on any comeback plans.
- Who is Conor McGregor? Step inside the hedonistic life of UFC’s ‘notorious’ bad boy and legendary double champ