Conor McGregor has said he had "multiple stress fractures" to his shinbone heading into his bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 - where a broken leg resulted in a defeat for the Irishman.
McGregor, 33, was aiming to settle the trilogy with Poirier having lost to the American at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi in January, but the fight ended at the end of the first round when the former champion rolled his ankle and broke the lower tibia in his left shin. The fight was called off by the doctors and the victory awarded to 32-year-old Poirier.
McGregor underwent surgery in California and on Thursday posted a video to his Instagram account to provide an update of his recovery and to thank the fans for their support. He also revealed that he carried shin injuries into the bout in Las Vegas and there were discussions to delay the fight.
"Everyone keeps asking me at what point did the leg break," McGregor said as he cruised around in a motor scooter with his leg elevated in a cast. "Ask [UFC president] Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr [Jeffrey] Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew ... I had stress fractures on my leg going into that cage.
"There was debate about pulling the thing out because I was sparring with no shin pads and I kicked the knee a few times, so I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle.
"I even did a lot of training sessions when the ankle was sore, I still wouldn't stop training. I used to train on my back and that's how I developed those ground and pound shots from the back.
"It was a skill I developed because of the damaged leg and I had to adjust my training."
Facing a long road to recovery, McGregor - who turned 33 on Wednesday - said he is "motivated to keep going".
"When I came out of surgery I was feeling euphoric," he said. "It was a great job that was done. I was thinking 'yes, this is going to be easy, I can do this no problem'. Then I hit a wall and I was thinking ... 'I'm in a lot of pain, I'm going to be like this for a while ... it's going to be a bit of time'. I know there is going to be ups and downs on this journey and I'm a bit more accepting of it and I'm motivated to keep going."
McGregor revealed that he has had a titanium rod inserted into his leg "from the knee to the ankle" and he joked: "I'm like Arnie (Schwarzenegger) in Terminator 2."
Du Plessis plans his retirement
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.
Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.
"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
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The specs
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Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
World Sevens Series Pools
A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan
B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland
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D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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