Conor McGregor blames pre-existing stress fractures for his leg break at UFC 264, while company president, Dana White, insists that “Notorious” is/was dealing with “chronic arthritis” in his lower half.
However, neither excuse explanation makes much sense to UFC Vegas 32’s Darrick Minner.
Darrick Minner (@DarrickMinner) is scratching his head over Conor McGregor's gameplan: "You kept throwing it so you obviously weren’t too worried about it"
— MMA mania (@mmamania) July 21, 2021
Read: https://t.co/kUODOGJ5Ma
(@Shak_Fu | #UFCVegas32 | #UFC264) pic.twitter.com/waliDaSr5X
McGregor snapped his leg (see it) in the closing moments of the first round of his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., July 10, 2021. Minner (26-11) shared his thoughts on McGregor’s injury while speaking with MMAMania.com ahead of his fight against Darren Elkins (25-9) at UFC Vegas 32, which will take place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend (Sat., July 24, 2021).
“Was his leg fractured? Probably. We’ve all probably experienced that,” Minner says. “But I’m not sparring without shinguards and kicking people’s knees hard without shinguards. That’s what he said he was doing. That’s just poor training if you ask me. I don’t know the circumstances. I went into fights where I had severe injuries. Not so severe that I couldn’t fight — it doesn’t matter what it is, I’m going to fight at the end of the day. But also he’s not a kid who is trying to make it, he made it. I can’t compare our stages.
“No fighter is 100 percent going into the cage,” he asserts. “He could have for sure and it could have played a factor in his leg breaking. But you kept throwing it so you obviously weren’t too worried about it. So that’s on him.”
Elkins bounced back against Luiz Eduardo Garagorri in Nov. 2020 to snap a career-worst four-fight losing streak. Minner — who has more professional fights than Elkins despite being younger and newer to the game — is training for the Elkins of old.
Darrick Minner (@DarrickMinner) says if Darren Elkins isn't at his best, someone should tell him: "You better have the right people in the right place to make that call for you if you can’t make them yourself"
— MMA mania (@mmamania) July 23, 2021
Read: https://t.co/kUODOGJ5Ma
(@Shak_Fu | #UFCVegas32) pic.twitter.com/gjDKohFP8G
“I’m preparing for Darren Elkins that was ranked number seven or eight in the world. I’m prepared to make that jump into a different level of competition. I just happen to have to go to Darren Elkins at this point. I expect the best Darren Elkins that has ever been. Will it happen?” Minner asked. “That’s not my call. You better have the right people in the right place to make that call for you if you can’t make them yourself. My guys know if I get a certain way, you better let me know because we’re too stubborn. We’re fighters. We’re stubborn as hell.”
UFC Vegas 32, which will stream on ESPN+, is headlined by Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw in a fight that will likely determine the next contender for the UFC Bantamweight title after Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2.
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