It has always been known that Conor McGregor fought due to an injury to win his first UFC title, but the size of his ailments has remained a mystery so far.
The Irishman hit Chad Mendes in two rounds to become the Interim -Fedweight champion at UFC 189 in July 2015.
Conor McGregor was supposed to fight Jose Aldo for the undisputed 145 pound title, but the Brazilian fighting legend withdrew from the event after a broken rib in training.
That was nothing compared to what 'notorious' came through to realize his world champion dream.
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Conor McGregor's disastrous UFC 189 camp
McGregor defeated Mendes despite the fact that he 'had no legs', according to his teammate who became Artem Lobov.
'The Russian Hamer' claims that McGregor's disastrous camp started with him who sustained a filthy injury during a sparring session with Rory Macdonald, who earned his place in the UFC Hall of Fame when he waged war with Robbie Lawler in the UFC 189 Co-Main event.
It got worse when 'notorious' his other knee was seriously injured, but he refused to withdraw the way he did after he broke his toe prior to a proposed fight with Michael Chandler on UFC 303 in June 2024.
“When he fought Mendes for the belt, in the documentary, they didn't really show the complete truth,” Lobov told Ariel Helwani. “He messed up his knee training with Rory MacDonald. I was there in Canada when it happened.
“Conor took him down and Rory jumped out of his knee and the crack was so loud.
'I was there professor then [Neal] Elattrach called us and said: 'Conor, you don't fight. You need another year. Potentially two years and another operation. “Conor just said:” No, f— I fight this “and put the phone down.
“We couldn't even train for the camp. You know, he was just rehabilitations all the time. In the documentary they showed when his knee went. That is actually the good knee that went. So his ACL was confused on one knee, and while we were training, with three or four weeks left, he was his other knee, his MCL and Mensiscus in his other.
“So, now he was on no legs. You know, he had zero legs, he had one leg, and now he is suddenly on zero legs. Then Mendes is placed in it instead of Aldo. A wrestler, we couldn't struggle in the camp at all. So this was just the worst fight that you can imagine.
“And what does he do?” I fight. I don't give it up … “Now he didn't even get the [UFC 303] Press conference with a painful toe. That is not the same conor. This is not the same man I know. '
Conor McGregor's comeback
McGregor has not fought since the breaking of his leg in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier on UFC 264 in July 2021.
The Irishman recently reintroduced the UFC test pool for medicines to bring his comeback a step closer.
McGregor shown interest on July 4, 2026 to compete on the UFC White House card.
Lobov believes that one big win is everything needed to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to end his retirement and rematch McGregor.
Only time will learn if we will ever see McGregor return after more than four years from MMA.