Israel
Adesanya believes Conor
McGregor might’ve entered his last bout in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship injured.
McGregor’s comeback ended after just 69 seconds when he appeared to
suffer a knee injury early in the opening round, resulting in a
loss to Max
Holloway in their rematch at
UFC 329. There’s growing discourse surrounding whether the
Irishman was carrying an injury into the bout, as he did in his
trilogy fight against Dustin
Poirier, which also ended in anticlimactic fashion.
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The former UFC middleweight champion pointed to footage from the
pre-fight inspection, saying McGregor appeared reluctant to put
weight on his right leg before stepping into the Octagon.
Israel Adesanya discusses Conor McGregor’s right leg concerns
before UFC 329 loss to Max Holloway
Speaking on his „Precision with Mighty & Izzy“ podcast alongside
former UFC star Demetrious
Johnson, Adesanya emphasized that McGregor was clearly dealing
with some leg-related issue.
„I have eyes,“ Adesanya said. „When they did the replay and he took
the Crocs off, he didn’t put weight on that right leg. He didn’t. I
know he was throwing it (practicing kicks) in the locker room… I
have eyes. When Conor took off the Crocs, as much as he said
afterwards, ‚I wasn’t hurt before the fight,‘ I saw he didn’t put
weight on the right leg. And that tells me something.“
McGregor has consistently denied entering the fight with a
pre-existing injury, as has his coach John
Kavanagh and UFC CEO Dana
White.