Joe Rogan has faith that Irish megastar Conor McGregor can come back and continue to compete after suffering a horrific leg injury in his last outing.
In July 2021, the Irishman suffered one of the most devastating injuries a fighter can ever experience inside the Octagon. During the opening round of his trilogy bout with lightweight rival Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, McGregor broke his left leg, forcing the bout to be called off. The injury immediately earned comparison to leg breaks suffered by former champions Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman.
Tragically, Silva and Weidman saw a significant decline in the Octagon following their individual injuries, but longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes that Conor McGregor could fare much better in his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.
“If it wasn’t for his leg snap, he’s still in the prime of his career. But that leg snap is a real problem,” Rogan said on an episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. “I mean, if he does (come back from that), he’ll be the first. And if anybody does, maybe he can do it. If anybody can do it, maybe it’s him. Because he snapped his leg in the prime of his career. Anderson was a little older, I believe he was 36 or 37… Chris Weidman was a little older.
“It’s a hard one to come back from. Nobody really comes back from that one,” Rogan continued. “You have to have plates in there. Also, you’ve gotta think the differences to your kicking, taking kicks… nerve damage, all the above… I don’t know the extent of how much damage was done, but it’s been two years… I just think that if anybody can do it, it’s gonna be Conor.”
Will Conor McGregor Fare Better Than Fighters Like Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman?
Upon Anderson Silva’s return from a broken leg, ‘The Spider’ dropped five of his last six before ultimately exiting the promotion in 2020.
After more than two years on the shelf, Chris Weidman returned from his own devastating injury in August. Sadly, Weidman suffered a lopsided loss to Brad Tavares in his big comeback. Following the bout, UFC CEO Dana White urged ‘All-American’ to call it quits.
Conor McGregor was originally slated to return in December after a stint on The Ultimate Fighter for a long-teased clash with former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. The bout has since been delayed to some time in 2024 after the Irishman failed to re-enroll in the USADA testing pool for a required six months of pre-fight screening. Some fans and fighters have even suggested that the former two-division titleholder may never return to the fight game.
Only time will tell.
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