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Dr. David Abbasi and MMA legend Chael Sonnen have broken down Conor McGregor’s UFC 264 injury as well as his recovery timeline.
In an episode of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen spoke to Dr. Abbasi – an orthopedic surgeon who has worked as a ringside physician at UFC events and is no stranger to the world of MMA. Sonnen noted that he’d heard of Conor McGregor having suffered a compound fracture at UFC 264.
Sonnen added that Conor McGregor later revealed he was dealing with stress fractures heading into UFC 264. Additionally, Sonnen harked back to the revelation that UFC president Dana White made after UFC 264. White claimed that Conor McGregor suffers from chronic arthritis in his ankles.
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‘The American Gangster’ requested Dr. Abbasi to help him and everyone else better understand the nature of the injuries that Conor McGregor is dealing with. Dr. Abbasi responded by stating:
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“Okay, so let’s back up. So, the term ‘compound’, so that would note that it’s an open fracture. So, that’s an old phrase that we don’t really use anymore. So, that would be an incorrect way. So, a compound fracture would be if his bone came out of the skin. That’s something that happened to Chris Weidman but not in Conor’s case, thankfully. Those are a little bit more concerning because there are higher incidents of an infection because the bone is coming out. It can get contaminated with the bacteria and such on the outside of the skin. But, so, we would call this a tibia and fibula fracture, not a compound fracture.”
Dr. Abbasi notably expounded upon the stress fracture aspect of Conor McGregor's UFC 264 injury:
“And then going back to that point about the stress fractures; so, I know Conor had released this information that he had stress fractures of the tibia. (He) released some images which appeared to be more ankle-based, and then, you know, I think Dana White was on an interview. And Dana White, maybe in defense – you know, ‘cause people had said why is the UFC allowing him to compete with these injuries. I think possibly in defense, and I’ll ask your opinion on that too (as to) why Dana White would’ve made those statements public, but he said that Conor has ankle arthritis."
"So, if that’s the case, if Conor does in fact have ankle arthritis, that would have nothing to do with any injury that he sustained at UFC 264. It would be completely separate. It would not predispose to that injury at all. Now, if he did have stress reaction or stress fractures of the tibia, that would be a different story.”
Dr. David Abbasi and Chael Sonnen also discussed Conor McGregor’s recovery timeline
Chael Sonnen cited similar injuries suffered by two other UFC fighters, namely Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Sonnen then asked Dr. Abbasi about Conor McGregor’s recovery timeline and when 'Mystic Mac' could resume active MMA competition in the UFC. Dr. Abbasi replied by explaining:
“Well, I mean, I don’t think any of those guys really got back to UFC competition, in terms of the competition, in six months. I think more doable would be something like 12 months. The average rehab after this or the average process of recovery – You have the operation. Hopefully, it’s a straightforward surgery. We know in Conor’s case, he had a rod placed down the tibia and he had fibular plates and screws. So, the advantage to placing a nail on the inside of the tibia is it’s immediately stabilized. So, we typically – as long as that surgery goes well and you’re able to get those fractured ends lined up nicely – we’ll allow him to start putting weight on it immediately.”
Dr. Abbasi alluded to Conor McGregor and Chris Weidman seemingly making good progress. He noted:
“I’ve seen on his social media, Conor’s releasing pictures. He already seems to be standing on it, thankfully. But that’s where the physical therapy really starts to get involved. Start walking on it, and then we start progressing to things like biking and pivoting-type movements. And we saw, you know, recently, Chris Weidman who just went through this. I think he had posted stuff where he’s boxing and doing drills like that. So, I think more realistically, probably somewhere close to 12 months if there’s no unforeseen complications like infections or blood clots and things like that, which, hopefully, there will not be.” (*Video courtesy: Chael Sonnen YouTube channel; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
In the aftermath of UFC 264, Conor McGregor has consistently maintained that his rivalry with Dustin Poirier is far from over. The Irishman has indicated that he intends to fight Poirier for the fourth time when he returns to the octagon.
Furthermore, Conor McGregor has also suggested that he’ll be going after a UFC world title. ‘Notorious’ recently insinuated via Twitter that the UFC belt ought to be spit-shined for him to collect.
The consensus in the MMA community is that Conor McGregor is likely to return to the octagon no sooner than 2022. Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier is expected to fight UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the title later this year.
