Dana White: Conor McGregor has ‘chronic arthritis in his ankles,’ asked NAC about tape prior to UFC 264
In the wake of Conor McGregor’s leg break and his subsequent claims the UFC were aware of a preexisting injury, promotion president Dana White says ankle problems existed long before UFC 264.
In an interview with “Watters’ World” on Fox News, White was asked if it was known McGregor was dealing with an injury. White then revealed that McGregor has dealt with “chronic arthritis” for years, but did not directly address the Irishman’s claim he almost withdrew due to a known stress fracture.
“(McGregor) has had ankle issues for (the) last couple of years,” White said. “He had asked if he could tape his ankles coming into this fight and he got clearance to do it from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and then he opted not to tape them. I don’t know why. He has chronic arthritis in his ankles.”
McGregor, 33, broke his leg with seconds remaining in the first round of his trilogy bout July 10 against rival Dustin Poirier. The fight was called off by the cage-side physician and McGregor underwent successful surgery the next day.
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Shortly thereafter, McGregor released a selfie video where he stated Dana White and UFC physician Dr. Davidson were aware of stress fractures prior to UFC 264.
“I was injured going into the fight,” McGregor said. “People were asking me when was the leg break – at what point did the leg break? Ask Dana White. Ask the UFC. Ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew. My leg – I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage. There was debate about pulling the thing out because I was sparring without shin pads, and I was kicking.
His comments come days after NAC executive director Bob Bennett said Friday the commissioning body was unaware of any severe injury pre-fight.
“If we ever knowingly had information a fighter wasn’t fit to fight, we wouldn’t let them compete,” Bennett told Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It would go to a doctor and a doctor would make that decision as the expert.”
As for McGregor’s future, White is unsure. There is an estimated one-year timeline on McGregor’s recovery and White is waiting to see how things play out.
“It’s going to take him a year to recover from this one before he can come back, so I don’t know,” White said. “We’ll see. The fight game is a tough game and the kid has cemented a massive legacy for himself and made a lot of money. We’ll see how the rest of his career plays out.”
UFC 264 took place Saturday, July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
