Conor McGregor reveals he went up a shoe size after toe injury but is “well on track” to make December UFC return

3 months ago 33

CONOR MCGREGOR was forced to go up a shoe size after withdrawing from his eagerly-anticipated cage comeback.

The Irishman was all set to make his long-awaited UFC return against Michael Chandler in June before breaking his left pinky toe in one of his final sparring sessions.

two men looking at each other with a referee in the background

Conor McGregor was supposed to make his UFC return against Michael Chandler in June[/caption]

The Irishman was forced out of his cage comeback due to a broken toe[/caption]

a man wearing sunglasses and a pink suit has a chicago bulls shirt on

McGregor revealed to SunSport that his toe injury has forced him to go up a shoe size[/caption]

McGregor, 36, was forced to wear opened-toed slippers in the days after he shattered the toe in order to get around.

It wasn’t, however, too long before he was back accompanying his fancy suits with the finest-leather shoes.

But he was forced to wear a bigger size due to the injury and the stem cells he had injected in a bid to try to expedite his recovery and save UFC 303’s initial main event.

In an exclusive interview with SunSport in Marbella, McGregor said before pointing to his foot: “I’m good, very good.

“I’m a [shoe] size up right now.”

Former two-division champion McGregor hasn’t shown any issues moving around publicly and is already back doing road work.

The UFC’s poster boy continued: “I’m back in running runners. I can run, I can box.

“These shoes [are] a little bit tricky to get into – I just went up a size.”

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Inside McGregor's Notorious lifestyle

With more sides to his personality than an Octagon, Conor McGregor's rise has been an enthralling watch.

Going from UFC icon to entrepreneur and Hollywood star, the Irishman has transcended the sport he helped bring to the masses.

He has four children with fiancee Dee Devlin and the family enjoy a lavish lifestyle.

McGregor has not fought in UFC since breaking his leg in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in 2021.

That has not stopped him amassing a net worth of over £150m thanks to his Proper No Twelve whiskey and fashion line.

And he is due to return to the Octagon at UFC 303 in an eagerly-awaited headline clash with Michael Chandler.

McGregor also starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the Amazon Prime remake of classic movie Road House, although he is dreading his mum seeing one X-rated scene.

Notorious turned up to the premiere in a £60,000 suit that was outdone by his £460k watch.

The only thing sharper than his fashion sense is his tongue and the Dubliner has several bitter spats under his belt, including with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

That row led to one of his biggest controversies in 2018 as he travelled 3,000 miles to confront Khabib in a vicious attack on his bus.

He pleaded guilty to assault after punching a man in a pub in 2018 and had his £150k Bentley seized by police for driving offences four years later.

Joe Rogan lashed out at McGregor in a four-letter outburst and the Irishman has also fired shots at Jake Paul, KSI and Tommy Fury.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather also has McGregor on his enemy list after the pair clashed in a cross-sport bout in 2017.

Read all of our latest Conor McGregor stories.

It’s not known if McGregor has resumed throwing kicks with his left leg – which he shattered three years ago – since his toe injury.

But The Notorious insisted: “I’m good, my man. I’m well on my bike, I’m well on track.”

The UFC have yet to announce a new date for the rescheduled Return of the Mac, who has set his sights on closing out the promotion’s final pay-per-view card of 2024 on December 7.

“That sounds good to me,” he said when asked about potentially headlining UFC 310. “That sounds good to me brother.”

Fan favourite McGregor has two fights left on the lucrative contract he signed in September 2018.

Promising talks over a new bumper deal between the Dubliner and the UFC brass were held before in the build-up to his cancelled clash with Chandler.

But the former feather and lightweight king has hinted that they’ve since cooled.

“You know, the fight never happened,” McGregor said when pressed on negotiations. “So it’s just about getting the fight on.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The UFC brass were seemingly hesitant to have him headline their final PPV of 2024, with president and CEO Dana White claiming “he won’t fight this year”.

White, however, changed his position after a private back-and-forth with McGregor and revealed late last month that news of his return is imminent.

The 55-year-old said: “Conor news coming up, we’ve got [Charles] Oliveira news coming up, we’ve got Chandler news coming up.

“All that good s**t. Coming soon.”