What happened to Conor McGregor's leg at UFC 257 and is it paralyzed?
Conor McGregor bore the brunt of Dustin Poirier's stinging calf kicks in the main event of UFC 257. The damage to McGregor's right leg was so severe that the 32-year-old Irishman was not able to walk, forcing him to leave the Etihad arena on crutches. However, his leg is not paralyzed. He only suffered nerve damage on it.
At the post-fight press conference, Poirier reflected on his gameplan against McGregor, and noted that his strategy was to approach the fight by troubling the Irishman with inside and outside kicks, and then mix it up with boxing. 'The Diamond' stuck to his gameplan which resulted in a second-round TKO victory for him.
The blistering kicks to Conor McGregor's leg damaged his peroneal nerve, making it unresponsive. 'The Notorious' was not able to lift his leg or move it freely, which triggered a knockdown when Poirier sniped him with a slew of heavy punches.
According to John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor's head coach, the Irishman's leg is not paralyzed. In an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Kavanagh stated that he expects McGregor to recover in seven to ten days.
"I'd say that in seven to ten days maximum, he will be back at full training," Said Kavanagh. "But there's no serious damage to the peroneal nerve that goes down there on that side of the leg, which was kicked a number of times."
Kavanagh later explained what happened with Conor McGregor's leg is called "drop flush" - a frequent occurrence when a fighter's peroneal nerve is damaged.
"It's called a "drop flush" - where you just actually can't send a signal down to your foot. You can't move it. And then it's pretty miserable," said Kavanagh.
"My leg was completely dead" - Conor McGregor
After the fight, Conor McGregor acknowledged that Dustin Poirier had him hurt with his calf kicks. The former lightweight champion said that his leg was "badly compromised".
“My leg is completely dead, and even though I felt like I was checking them, it was just sinking into the muscle in the front of the leg, and it was badly compromised. It’s like an American football in my shoe. It is what it is. Dustin fought a hell of a fight," said McGregor.
However, John Kavanagh stated that Conor McGregor did a "very tough" workout the day after losing to Poirier, and mentioned that the damage to his leg is not serious. He also added that The Notorious is looking to step into the octagon again in May.
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