Morning Report: Joe Rogan defends Conor McGregor's UFC 303 absence: Broken toe is 'a real problem'

Conor McGregor's return, along with his pinky injury, has been put on ice.

UFC 303 fight week is upon us, headlined by a rematch of the big light heavyweight title bout, with champion Alex Pereira once again looking to defeat Jiri Prochazka. The bout fills the void left by McGregor's fight against Michael Chandler after he was injured. With speculation flying as the fight slowly fades away by the day, the “Notorious” Irishman revealed over the weekend that a broken toe was the reason he withdrew.

McGregor, 35, has faced fierce backlash from his peers and the community since going public with his injury, as seen in today's social scroll down, but UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes the former two-division champion's decision is completely understandable.

“About your broken pinky finger,” Logan said. The Joe Rogan Experience (h/t MMA Mania) “For a guy who uses kicks as much as Conor does, that’s a huge problem, plus it was the same leg that he broke and he went into the fight with an injury.

“He's never withdrawn from a fight before, this is the first time. I think it's wise to withdraw. If he goes into the fight with a broken toe, and it was injured in his last fight, what if that damn toe really becomes an issue? What if he kicks and gets slammed back in and he can't move in pain?”

“We need to get Michael Chandler out of the way,” he concluded.

UFC CEO Dana White was hesitant to reveal a timeline for McGregor's return when asked about the aftermath of Saturday's UFC Saudi Arabia bout, while Chandler hinted on Twitter at his interest in a bout with Max Holloway.

As Rogan noted, McGregor's most recent bout inside the Octagon ended in any fighter's nightmare, losing by TKO after breaking his leg to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. McGregor showed off his newly strengthened limbs after having surgical plates implanted following his recovery.

Coincidentally, Pereira has been nursing a broken toe since his first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April.

Champ. UFC 303 Roundtable: Is Alex Pereira the UFC's MVP?

no. Dana White responds to Conor McGregor hinting at August/September return: 'He's not ready yet'

shot. 'Sweet Slippers' Michael Chandler hits back at Conor McGregor after Bellator Dublin appearance

Rebook. Robert Whittaker still upbeat about Khamzat Chimaev fight: 'We'll settle it another day'

Fluctuation. Michael Bisping: Kelvin Gastelum should be 'ashamed' after UFC Saudi Arabia weight mistake

Retreat. Conor McGregor defends decision to skip UFC 303: 'Perfection is my goal'

There's a problem. Dana White reacts to Kelvin Gastelum's recent weight loss struggles: 'Very disappointing'

$$$. UFC Saudi Arabia Bonus: Robert Whittaker, Volkan Oezdemir's stunning knockouts top the list

After the UFC Saudi Arabia match.

Light heavyweight history.

PFL SLC Highlights.

PFL fight week.

Super RIZIN 3 trailer.

A complete battle.

Preparing the poatan.

Toes.

Aspinall Workout.

The Holloway Family and D'Arques Sports.

Go on Twitter and use the #MorningReport hashtag or find any of my tweets with this hashtag and send me the jams you're really into right now and I'll pick the best one along with my choice of the day and give you a shout out. You can also share in the comments below, which can be hard to sift through sometimes.

Connor can’t help but be surprised by these reactions…right?

That's pretty wild.

threat.

no time.

flash.

Harvesting.

fame.

LOL. I missed it live.

ah.

Brother…

I can't believe Gomi survived.

Damn it.

A tough defeat.

return.

Prospective war.

J.T.T.

Anthony Smith (37-19) vs. Roman Dorize (12-3); UFC 303, June 29

Amanda Lemos (14-3-1) vs. Virna Jandiroba (20-3); UFC Las Vegas 94, July 20

Yana Santos (14-8) vs. Chelsea Chandler (6-2); UFC Las Vegas 95, August 10

Thai Tuivasa (14-7) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (14-5); UFC 305, August 17

Sorry Joe, but it's Pereira. Pereira pretty much kills every argument in favor of Conor.

thank you for reading!

Last week's results:

Friday: In response to the question, “Will Colby Covington be facing the next 'big' fight?”, 70% of the 348 total votes answered “No.”

Thursday: In response to the question, “Are you excited to see a Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry match?” 59% of the 373 total votes answered “No.”

Wednesday: In response to the question, “If Anthony Smith and Alex Pereira both win at UFC 303, would Smith have a shot at a title fight?” 81% of the 403 total votes answered “No.”

Tuesday: In response to the question, “Who will win this weekend?”, 62% of the 395 votes answered “Robert Whittaker and Sergey Pavlovic.” Whittaker defeated Ikram Aliskerov by knockout (punches) at 1 minute 49 seconds into the first round in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Alexander Volkov defeated Pavlovic by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia.

Monday: In response to the question, “Will Tatsuro Taira win the UFC title?”, 57% of the 259 total votes answered “No.”

Today's exit poll:

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