CONOR MCGREGOR has sensationally claimed that he fractured his leg before his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 over the weekend.
During their much anticipated trilogy fight on Saturday, McGregor stepped back after firing off a flurry of kicks and gruesomely snapped his tibia, forcing a referee stoppage.
While the American claims it was his defensive work that caused McGregor's leg to fracture, the Dublin-born fighter now says the damage was done before he stepped into the Octagon.
"I was injured going into the fight," he revealed on Instagram.
Photo from Steve Denny Nasty leg break for Mcgregor last night. Ouch 🙈 pic.twitter.com/GFMqhYm7Nk
— Steve Denny (@alvechurchsec) July 11, 2021
"People are asking me 'when was the leg broke?' Ask Dana White, ask UFC, ask the head doctor at the UFC, they knew I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage.
"I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle ... I was wrapping my ankle every training session.
"I had the damaged leg and I had to adjust my training. I needed to get treatment on my leg, I needed to get treatment on the ankle, and I needed to get treatment on the shin bone."
McGregor later posted some photos which appear to ban up his claims, one with his ankle in a bucket of ice, another with his leg in a protective boot, and another of his medical team assessing an x-ray of his damaged ankle.
Wouldn’t change my journey for no ones! The greatest of all time! pic.twitter.com/iZhQ3j7B1A
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 16, 2021
"Wouldn't change my journey for no ones! The greatest of all time!" McGregor wrote alongside the photos.
The UFC star is expected to be out of action for anywhere between six month and a year while his leg heals.
In the aftermath of his defeat last weekend, McGregor vowed to fight Poirier again, to truly settle the feud, despite the fact he now trails his rival with one win and two losses.