UFC President Dana White has revealed that former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor apparently has been suffering from ankle issues for years.
White spoke with political commentator Jesse Watters on his Fox News show Watters' World and was asked if there was any truth to McGregor's claims that the promotion knew ahead of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 that his leg was injured. He gave the following response and said the Irish superstar has chronic arthritis in his ankles.
“(McGregor) has had ankle issues for (the) last couple of years,” White said (h/t MMAJunkie). “He had asked if he could tape his ankles coming into this fight and he got clearance to do it from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and then he opted not to tape them. I don’t know why. He has chronic arthritis in his ankles.”
He continued on to talk about when McGregor could possibly return to the Octagon, revealing the Irishman should be out for a year to recover from the broken left tibia and fibula injuries he suffered in the loss to Poirier.
“It’s going to take him a year to recover from this one before he can come back, so I don’t know. “We’ll see. The fight game is a tough game and the kid has cemented a massive legacy for himself and made a lot of money. We’ll see how the rest of his career plays out.”
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates, and predictions.