Conor McGregor’s expected UFC return is being linked to UFC 329, but Chris Weidman believes the biggest issue is not time away or physical rehab. He says the harder part is what a snapped leg does to a fighter’s instincts once the cage door closes.
Weidman has lived through that exact nightmare. He broke his leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021. Three months later, McGregor suffered his own gruesome leg break in the first round of his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor has not fought since that July 2021 loss, so a return at UFC 329 would come after more than four years away from live competition.
The layoff is only part of it. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion would be trying to come back from the worst injury of his career after an already shaky stretch in the cage. Since stopping Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246 in January 2020, McGregor is 0-2, both losses coming against Poirier. Before that, he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. His last win over an opponent in his competitive prime came against Eddie Alvarez in November 2016, when he became the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.
Speaking during a recent YouTube appearance, Weidman said McGregor’s presence in the testing pool is a strong sign that he does plan to fight again.
“He’s in the drug-testing pool,” Weidman said. “For you to come off of stuff, get back in that drug-testing pool, you’d better fight. Otherwise, you’re just going to feel worse than you used to feel for no reason. So, I think he fights, for sure. [The leg break] was in 2021. He’s had enough time to recover, but I will say, your first time coming back, because I went through a very similar injury, it is hard to be the person you were beforehand, for sure.”
Chris Weidman says traumatic leg breaks can change how a fighter reacts
Weidman said he spent camp throwing kicks over and over to rebuild confidence in the leg, but once he got into an actual fight, his body stopped him from answering the way it used to.
“I hope the best for him,” Weidman added. “But I remember in training camp, I was throwing kicks like crazy to try to get used to throwing kicks again. And I was fine in training, but when I got into the actual first fight since that leg injury, I was getting kicked, and as soon as I went to throw my kick back, because that was always the instinct, you get kicked, you kick back, I just couldn’t do it. My body wouldn’t let me do it. It’s just crazy when you go through a traumatic injury like that, how it can affect your head.”
That is a serious problem for McGregor because his best run was built on fast reactions, distance control, and total trust in his body. Those tools helped him starch Jose Aldo in 13 seconds and dismantle Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt. If there is hesitation on checks, counters, or return kicks, the whole equation changes against elite opponents.
McGregor turns 38 in July, and he has spent most of the last several years outside active competition while dealing with rehab, business ventures, legal issues, and nonstop comeback chatter. The name still sells, but the version of him that ran through two weight classes has not been seen in a long time.
Watch the full discussion below:
If McGregor does make the walk at UFC 329, the first hard kick he has to answer will say more than any promo tour ever could.
