Conor McGregor does not expect to be out for long despite his severely swollen leg.
The Irish MMA legend has not competed since breaking his leg during his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
McGregor was scheduled to return to action against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29, but the bout was called off after the former two-division champion broke his pinky finger.
On Saturday night, McGregor was at the Bellator MMA event in Dublin to support his teammate Sinead Kavanagh, who was submitted by second round against Arlene Blencowe.
“Notorious” is currently wearing slippers as he is unable to wear training shoes or shoes, but is still confident that he will be fit to compete in two months' time.
“August or September would be ideal,” McGregor told Severe MMA when asked about his planned return date.
“You know, I’m in recovery, that happened exactly three weeks ago today, and I’m still here rocking in my slippers.
“Thankfully, these slippers aren't too bad. They're comfortable enough, but I still can't put my shoes on.”
The 35-year-old revealed he made a desperate effort to stay on the return card – something he unfortunately believes may have backfired.
McGregor added: “They injected stem cells into my leg.”
“They came and took the drug from my back and injected it into my leg. They took 20 milligrams from the bone marrow in my back and injected it into my leg.”
“We went straight into a break and then we had a little bit left over so I said, 'Yeah, lob it to the shoulder. It's a bit of a pain.'
“My shoulder feels amazing. The stem cells are great. They've been an eye-opener, but my toes hurt.
“I don't know if getting stem cells into my toes was the right answer. You know those girls who get fillers in their faces? That's what my pinky looks like.”
“I don't think it's swollen anymore. I think it's stem cells in my toe. My toe is going to be swollen from now on. I don't know. I'm just recovering and taking it one day at a time.”
Dana White was much more pessimistic about McGregor's return date when asked to respond to his comments at UFC Saudi Arabia.
“We don't know right now,” he said.
“The schedule is set, so we'll see how it goes. We're not doing anything until Connor is healthy.”
“That's not even worth talking about. 'What about September?' 'What about October?' He's not ready yet, so why bring that up?”
