Conor McGregor eyes July return from leg injury, pitches idea UFC champ Charles Oliveira waits two months

Conor McGregor is inching closer and closer toward a return to action in the late stages of his recovery process from a broken leg in July 2021.

In attendance Friday at Bellator 275 in Dublin, a bulked-up McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) discussed his progress and timeline for return in an interview with Irish outlet Severe MMA.

“Day-by-day, I feel better,” McGregor said. “They’re telling me to take it easy, but I feel I can go. I feel like I need to pull the reins back on my own self, so that’s kind of what I’m doing. … I’m happy with it. I’m almost back and that’s it.”

McGregor, 33, revealed he’s targeting an April return to sparring. In his estimation, that could line him up for a July return. The UFC will hold their annual “International Fight Week” with a July 2 festivity-closing pay-per-view event, UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Historically, McGregor has headlined the UFC’s tentpole event of the summer – and it’s something he sees himself doing again in 2022. McGregor indicated he wouldn’t mind seeing UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira hold off a few months to compete, instead of his anticipated May defense against Justin Gaethje.

“Maybe if your man (Oliveira) is wise, he might give it another month or two,” McGregor said. “July seems OK to me. I can’t say, too early. But July, if I’m sparring April, May, June, July, I could slap the head off most of these guys at the end of April, do you know what I’m saying? A spar could be a fight.”

Regardless of his next opponent, fight date, or location, McGregor vowed to make one thing known. He thinks he deserves more respect for the well-roundedness of his game and the multi-faceted attack that he does not receive enough credit for.

“It’s about time this game starts giving me respect for my different styles of fighting – my ground, my shots downward, my shots upward,” McGregor said. “No matter what’s going on with the leg, I scoot into open guard. … I’d scoot into open guard. I’d play open guard attacks. People are going to give me my respect for all of the facets of my game. Even the downward shots, from bottom, the elbows, the kicks. Even since that fight, you see people trying to implement them and make them. It’s not the same. There are levels to this game. The game is going to understand and give me my respect for my multiple facets for my game.”

A former double champion and unanimously considered MMA’s biggest star ever, McGregor doesn’t think he has to prove anything in terms of accolades. However, he would like to give those supporters a sense of confidence in his dedication to staying on a straight path – and make them proud in the process.

“I’m the double-champ. I went to a different sport. I came back. I know that. I don’t got to prove that,” McGregor said. “It’s just about getting back in and competing and getting myself into pristine condition and getting in and enjoying myself, putting on a show for the fans. That’s it. Once I get the leg cleared and I get that feeling when I kick a body, when I step back in and out and get that feel of it, then I’ll be able to gauge time.

“I’m going to isolate myself. I’m going to stay away from the pub. I’m going to stay away from my delicious Forge Irish Stout, from my tasty, smooth Proper (No. Twelve) Irish Whiskey. I’m going to dedicate myself to my craft 100 percent. Give it a month or two of that and see how everything goes and make the move. There’s no worry, no rush. I know a lot of people are supporting me. I want to do them well. I want to do my support well. That’s what we’re going to do.”