Chris Weidman believes Conor McGregor will face serious mental hurdles when he finally steps back into the Octagon after his leg break.
McGregor’s long-awaited return has been rumored for UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, and Weidman says the former champion has already taken a key step toward fighting again. “He’s in the drug-testing pool,” Weidman said.
“For you to come off of stuff, get back in that drug-testing pool, you’d better fight. Otherwise, you’re just going to feel worse than you used to feel for no reason. So, I think he fights, for sure. [The leg break] was in 2021. He’s had enough time to recover, but I will say, your first time coming back — because I went through a very similar injury — it is hard to be the person you were beforehand, for sure,” Weidman added.
Weidman, who broke his leg at UFC 261 in April 2021 and later returned to compete three more times before retiring from the UFC, drew on his own experience to explain the challenge ahead. “But I remember in training camp, I was throwing kicks like crazy to try to get used to throwing kicks again. And I was fine in training, but when I got into the actual first fight since that leg injury, I was getting kicked, and as soon as I went to throw my kick back — because that was always the instinct, you get kicked, you kick back — I just couldn’t do it. My body wouldn’t let me do it. It’s just crazy when you go through a traumatic injury like that, how it can affect your head.”
McGregor has not fought since suffering his leg break and enters his potential return on back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier, holding a 22-6 record. “I hope the best for him,” Weidman said.
