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Several fighters have criticized Conor McGregor for pulling out of UFC 303 due to a toe injury, but Joe Rogan sees things differently.
Rogan defended McGregor’s decision not to face Michael Chandler with a broken toe on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.
“Look, here’s the thing about a broken pinky toe,” Rogan said. “When you’re a guy who kicks as much as Conor, it’s a f—— problem and it’s also the same foot where his leg was snapped, and he went into that fight injured.
“He’s never pulled out of a fight before, this is the first one he’s pulled out of, and I think it’s wise. I think if you do have a broken toe, and you are going into a fight, and you did go into the last fight injured, what if that f—— toe becomes a real issue? What if he throws a kick and it smashes again and he’s in agony and he can’t move?
“You gotta be able to get the f— out of the way with Michael Chandler.”
Joe Rogan Is The Only One Defending Conor McGregor Over Toe Injury
Rogan makes completely valid points.
But it’s still an awful look for McGregor, who has routinely criticized fighters in the past for pulling out due to injuries
Former UFC star turned ESPN analyst Chael Sonnen offered a different take. Sonnen suggested that McGregor pulled out of the fight because he was in rehab for substance abuse. McGregor’s camp strongly refuted that claim. But Sonnen said they should’ve just rolled with it.
“You can listen to my account which builds and helps Conor McGregor. Or you can listen to Conor’s account which makes him look like a little b—-,” he said. “He would prefer that you see him as a little b—- who can’t fight because he’s got a sore toe.”
Fighting with a broken toe sounds awful. Fighting Michael Chandler with a broken toe sounds even worse. But when you run your mouth the way McGregor does, at some point you’ve got to back it up.