Conor McGregor's comeback fight takes place this Saturday at UFC 329 after a five-year hiatus, but he was originally meant to return much sooner.
MMA
Morning Report: Conor McGregor coach takes blame for injury that delayed return
Published
1 month agoon
Two years ago, McGregor was set to fight opposing The Ultimate Fighter 31 coach Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024. However, a toe injury forced McGregor out of that contest, the first time in the former two-division champion's UFC career that he'd ever pulled out of a fight. It was a devestating blow for McGregor and his fans, who were eager to see the fighter make his return to action after breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
In an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh took full responsibility for the pre-UFC 303 injury that occurred in training.
â€I'll say it more bluntly than [McGregor] will,†Kavanagh said. “I should have had the protective gear on both guys from the start. The beginning of it was a little bit rushed. It's different when you're sparring for sparring, and sparring for whatever they were, Embedded or Countdown, and it was a bit sort of haphazard.
“‘What are we doing?' ‘OK, you two move around for the cameras, but it's also a spar.' It just wasn't done right.â€
Initially, McGregor and his team were unaware of the severity of the injury, so McGregor pressed on with the sparring session that was both for his preparation and for the UFC's video documentation. McGregor felt something was bothering him after his training partner blocked a kick, but pressed on to finish the spar.
“Look, I'll put my hand up,†Kavanagh said. “I should have had all the gear on them and they didn't and he awkwardly caught Tristan's elbow and that happened very early. … That happened in the first minute or so of Round 1 and he kind of whispered to me in between the rounds that he feels his toe is broke. I'm trying to stop it and he insisted on doing the next four rounds, he did all five rounds, because you can kind of run on adrenaline a little bit. But yeah, it was nasty.â€
McGregor's toe injury left him with no choice but to cancel the Chandler matchup and despite months and months and months of rumors, he wouldn't have another fight announced until he was paired up with past opponent Max Holloway to fill the UFC 329 main event spot.
Ahead of McGregor's comeback fight, Kavanagh didn't take any chances with his fighter's health this time.
“Sick,†Kavanagh said when asked how he felt when McGregor injured his foot. “Really, really sick. … It was my fault. I'm not going to beat around the bush on it. Should have had the gear on them.
“So we've been super careful this training camp. Not a niggle on him, not a bump, not a bruise, 100 percent, and we'll get to see the best version of him.â€
Fury. Conor McGregor isn't chasing a fight with “f*cking bum†Justin Gaethje.
Stubborn. McGregor still isn't giving Khabib Nurmagomedov credit for beating him.
Busy? McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh thinks McGregor could fight out his contract this year.
Fight. Paddy Pimblett doesn't care what Arman Tsarukyan thinks he deserves, he needs to fight.
Rejuvenated. Robert Whittaker sees himself fighting a few more times now that he's a light heavyweight.
Stray. Mario Bautista has no idea why the UFC social team tagged him in a video where he was being submitted.
Home. Merab Dvalishvili still waiting for Petr Yan with RAF Georgia match ahead.
UFC 329 media day highlights.
UFC 329 pre-fight presser.
Submission Radio media day reaction.
Ben Askren Road to RAF vlog.
UFC 329 Embedded. (Look, it's Conor!)
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Build a worse fighter, we'll wait.
The Ultimate Fighter 34's latest winner.
Yan Xiaonan (19-5, 1 NC) vs. Denise Gomes (12-3); UFC Shanghai, Aug. 29
Rei Tsuruya (11-1) vs. Kevin Borjas (11-5); UFC Shanghai, Aug. 29
You never forget your first.
My first favorite fighter
With Conor coming back this weekend, he is the one who got me watching UFC and mixed martial arts. He was incredible and I'm hoping he can somehow pull off a win. Which fighter got you into MMA?

Two days away from Conor McGregor's return, believe it or not.
Apologies for no Morning Report on Friday, will be back Monday after the UFC 329 dust has settled. Have a great weekend everyone!
If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee of @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.
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MMA
Anthony Smith pleads not guilty to four felony charges in Nebraska
Published
8 hours agoon
August 18, 2026
Smith has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges stemming
from a July domestic incident in Nebraska.
Court records confirmed
Smith’s plea, resulting in the cancellation of an arraignment
scheduled for Aug. 17. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title
challenger is now due back in court for a status hearing Sept. 21
in Sarpy County.
Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith faces four felony
charges stemming from an alleged July domestic incident in Gretna,
Nebraska
Smith faces one Class 2 felony count involving an attempted Class 1
offense, a terroristic-threats charge and two counts of
first-degree false imprisonment, all classified as Class 3A
felonies. A Class 2 felony in Nebraska can carry a prison term of
one to 50 years, while Class 3A felonies carry up to three years of
imprisonment and 18 months of post-release supervision.
Prosecutors allege that Smith became involved in an altercation
with his wife at a Gretna, Nebraska, bar on July 26. They claim
Smith threatened to kill his wife, forced her into his vehicle and
later attempted to strike her with the vehicle after she exited it.
His wife was not physically injured, according to prosecutors’
account.
Smith has not publicly addressed the allegations. His wife, Mikhala
Renee Newman, previously offered a different characterization of
the incident, saying Smith was experiencing a mental health crisis
and that she had sought help to protect him from himself.
MMA
Sean Strickland trades heated DMs with Tyron Woodley over Din Thomas cornering controversy
Published
8 hours agoon
August 18, 2026
Credit: Michelle Farsi/Chris Unger/Matt Winkelmeyer/Zuffa LLCUFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and former titleholder Tyron Woodley engaged in a war of words over Din Thomas.
UFC analyst and former fighter Din Thomas is under intense criticism after ‘retiring' as a cornerman following Gillian Robertson's loss at UFC 330. Robertson lost to UFC women's strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern by unanimous decision with Thomas, her longtime mentor and coach, in her corner.
After massive backlash, Thomas apologized for his ‘retirement' during the most recent episode of Deep Waters alongside Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal. Robertson, in her first post-fight comments after UFC 330, appeared to question the sincerity of Thomas' apology.
Enter Sean Strickland, who went on an X-rated social media rant against Thomas as the controversy built steam over the weekend. Strickland defended Robertson's performance and blasted Thomas' critical remarks in the immediate aftermath of the fight.
After Strickland's remarks went viral, one of Thomas' closest confidants, former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, defended the coach against Strickland's attacks.
Sean Strickland, Tyron Woodley trade threats over Din Thomas controversy
As Strickland leaked on Instagram, Woodley gave him a stern warning after the middleweight champ's recent remarks about Thomas following UFC 330.
“Watch your mouth talking about Din,†Woodley messaged Strickland.
“You have no clue WTF you talking about, we laugh all the time when you have no filter, but you a habitual line-crosser. I'm ride or die about him. Don't cross that line.â€
Tyron Woodley confronted Sean Strickland in his DMs for talking bad about Din Thomas
Sean Strickland sent him back a screenshot of his 7-fight losing skid 😬
ðŸ—£ï¸ Woodley: “Watch your mouth talking about Din. You have no clue wtf you talking about.â€
ðŸ—£ï¸ Strickland: “Bro what are… pic.twitter.com/MjP2elpaR2
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 18, 2026
Three hours later, Strickland hit back at Woodley.
“Bro, what are you gonna do? You ain't gonna do a damn thing lmao,†Strickland responded to Woodley.
“Din can suck my c—. Weak a– b—-.â€
What are your thoughts on the Din Thomas cornering controversy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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