Rogan recently discussed McGregor on The Joe Rogan Experience, outlining just how difficult it is to come back from the type of injury Conor suffered.
Joe Rogan is holding out hope that Conor McGregor can pull off one of the great MMA comebacks of all time.
McGregor broke his leg in half in a fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Since then he’s been out of the USADA drug testing program rehabbing the injury. Getting better was only half the battle. Now he seems to be having issues getting back in the pool and getting a fight booked.
How he’ll look when he returns is a big question, one that Joe Rogan pondered in a recent episode of his podcast.
“If it wasn’t for his leg snap, he’s still in the prime of his career,” Rogan said (via MMA News). “But that leg snap is a real problem. I mean, if he does [come back], he’ll be the first. And if anybody does, maybe he can do it. If anybody can do it, maybe it’s him. Because he snapped his leg in the prime of his career.”
Bare knuckle ! @tidlsport pic.twitter.com/dmrHb4iZm3
— Mcgregor Forever (@mcgregorufc22) September 22, 2023
Other fighters have tried to come back from similar complete leg breaks and were never the same. Rogan is wondering if that’s an age thing.
“Anderson was a little older, I believe he was 36 or 37,” he said. “Chris Weidman was a little older.”
“It’s a hard one to come back from,” he admitted. “Nobody really comes back from that one. You have to have plates in there. Also, you’ve gotta think the differences to your kicking, taking kicks, nerve damage, all the above. I don’t know the extent of how much damage was done, but it’s been two years.”
“I just think that if anybody can do it, it’s gonna be Conor.”
With UFC 296 in December booked, it looks like McGregor will have to make his comeback sometime in 2024.