Daniel Cormier explains why Conor McGregor’s toe injury creates an “opportunity” for his UFC rivals

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier thinks Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 pullout due to a toe injury provides new material for fighters to use against him.

McGregor was scheduled to face former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 main event this Saturday in Las Vegas. But, McGregor withdrew earlier this month due to a toe injury suffered in camp, and the fight will be rescheduled for a later date.

McGregor’s toe injury has been met by several conspiracy theories regarding his fight pullout. Chael Sonnen, Cormier’s ESPN co-host, stated that he believes McGregor’s withdrawal was due to a rehab stint for substance abuse.

While Cormier believes that McGregor’s injury is legitimate, he feels that the withdrawal exposes a possible hole for some of his adversaries to poke at him.

Daniel Cormier: Conor McGregor’s injury gives path to attack him

During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, Cormier gave an interesting take on McGregor’s injury.

“I believe it’s been so long that he can’t go on with the fight because he has far too much to lose,” Cormier said of McGregor. “I also hear it’s the toe on the same side as the broken leg…when I look at it, I think it becomes an opportunity for just every fighter in his orbit. You and Conor can go back and forth, but ultimately what it will be is a whole bunch of words. But for Islam Makhachev, for Ilia Topuria, when they go at Conor McGregor, that may ultimately lead to something…

“They’re both holding gold belts,” Cormier continued. “If neither of those guys had a championship belt, their words would be like those other random fighters that call him out. He doesn’t care…but when you hold a gold belt, you can actually sing Conor’s name and he will respond to you. That injury, what it was, and why he pulled out, now opens the door for all those guys…Leon Edwards should say something! If I’m the champion, I’m saying ‘Well that’s BS, you fight with a broken toe’.”

McGregor hasn’t competed since a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. It’s uncertain how long he’ll be sidelined with the toe injury, but he’s hoping to return by the end of 2024.

Despite McGregor’s long hiatus, he’s been called out by the likes of UFC titleholders Leon Edwards and Ilia Topuria. He remains arguably the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draw.

Cormier is still anticipating a McGregor fight soon, but McGregor’s first-ever fight pull-out will likely add to pre-fight buildup and mental warfare ammunition for his adversaries.