Conor McGregor’s five-year absence from the Octagon wasn’t entirely about injuries.
Recently, in a revealing conversation with CBS’s Nate Burleson ahead of UFC 329 on July 11, the Irish fighter opened up about losing his passion for the sport during his extended layoff.
His shocking admission complicates the narrative around his return, suggesting burnout and personal struggles played a role alongside his gruesome tibia fracture suffered at UFC 264 in 2021.
Conor McGregor Admits He “Got Lost” After Early Dominance
McGregor’s last fight ended in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier on July 10, 2021, when his leg fractured cleanly as he stepped backward. While Dustin Poirier claimed an earlier checked kick may have cracked the bone, the dramatic break occurred under McGregor’s own weight during his retreat.
Anyways, Conor being Conor kept the public entertained during his recovery, frequently posting videos boasting about the “unbreakable titanium shin bone” and the rod doctors placed in his leg.
Yet, the physical injury wasn’t the only hurdle keeping him sidelined. Though the “Notorious” appeared happy in his flashy social media posts, the grueling layoff took a heavy psychological toll.
For nearly five years, he watched the sport from the sidelines while his reputation took hits from legal troubles, civil lawsuits, and scandals that dominated headlines far more than fight news. Now, with the most anticipated UFC 329 approaching after the blockbuster White House event, McGregor acknowledged the mental toll that success imposed on him.
He traced his disillusionment back to his meteoric rise and said, “At 27 years of age, I had the game conquered. Two-weight world champion. I had the Floyd bout boxed off. I was only 27 years of age. I had the game wrapped up in a blink, and what more was I to do? I got lost.”
It’s a wild confession. Most fighters at 27 are still grinding just to get noticed and score big in bank account, but McGregor had already done it all. The Floyd Mayweather fight made him ridiculously rich and turned him into a global superstar.
But that kind of massive success so early left him with nothing left to chase. When you’ve already hit the absolute top, it’s easy to lose your drive and just drift — something we see happen to young athletes all the time.
Conor McGregor Acknowledges Mistakes During Layoff: Reflects on Disrespecting the Sport
Irishman went further, admitting his critics weren’t entirely wrong.
“I made some mistakes off of that, and that’s it,” McGregor said. “But you’ll always come home. If you truly love something, you’ll always come home. And that’s what happened to me. There may be pockets where I would have disrespected and disgraced the position that God had put me in.”
What’s interesting is that McGregor didn’t just blame his long absence on his broken leg. Instead, he totally owned up to how his own choices derailed him. And this part of him is a significant change from the usual trash-talking persona we see in public.
Plus, this honest admission adds a lot of pressure to his comeback. At 37, he’s jumping right into a welterweight fight against Max Holloway after five whole years away from the sport.
Now, he’s trying to find the hungry 27-year-old kid inside himself again. Whether that fire is actually back is the only question that matters on July 11
