Cathal Pendred is now Stateside, and he's planning a trip to visit an injured friend.
Most people have heard the news that my team mate Conor McGregor suffered a serious knee injury during his decision win over Max Holloway in Boston a couple of weeks ago. Everyone assumed (even Conor himself and our coaches) that the injury was a minor one considering it happened before the midway point of the second round and yet he still managed to completely dominate the fight and not let his opponent any opportunity to make it anything but a one-sided fight.
As it turns out, Conor tore his ACL. This is the worst ligament in the knee to damage as it is the most essential ligament for stability and it is the most difficult to repair. It makes his victory even more impressive knowing that Conor was able to not only continue but still not allow his opponent into the fight. This is another piece of evidence that Conor is a natural born warrior!
It’s weird because had this happened to Conor a year ago, most people would not have heard about his injury. MMA was not getting any media attention in Ireland this time last year like it is right now. Another major difference if this were to have happened a year ago Conor wouldn’t have been signed with the UFC. The fact that Conor is signed with the UFC means Conor will be covered by the UFC fighter insurance, and he will get the best possible medical treatment.
The surgeon that will operate on Conor’s knee is actually the same surgeon who operated on UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s knee. This surgeon is known as the best in the U.S and has operated on many of the top NFL & NBA players. Conor is in the best possible hands, and looking at this in a positive light, Conor is so lucky that this injury occurred while he is a UFC fighter and not before.
St-Pierre actually suffered a near identical knee injury and has made a full recovery and successfully defended his UFC title twice since then. I was talking to Conor yesterday and he actually received a phone call from St-Pierre who discussed his injury with Conor and how he rehabbed his knee back to full strength. This was a great gesture by St-Pierre and has given Conor a lot of confidence moving forward.
Conor just had his pre-op procedure performed yesterday and will undergo the full surgery in the next few days. After the surgery Conor won’t be able to fly for a couple of weeks so will have to stay close to where he undergoes the procedure. Fortunately for Conor, that is somewhere near Orange County in California.
Myself and my other team mate Chris Fields, who travelled to ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ tryouts with me, have decided that since we travelled so far we may as well visit the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. We’re going to go there and train for a few days; I’m really looking forward to the experience.
Even though Conor might be living it up in the O.C, he is still away from his friends and family. His girlfriend Dee is with him at the moment but she has to leave in the next couple of days. So myself and Chris have decided while we’re over as far as Vegas, we’ll go pay a visit to our team mate and show him some moral support and maybe go have some fun and take his mind of the injury for the time being.
I leave things on this note.
Conor will recover from this. He will be back stronger than ever. And it will be in time for the UFC’s return to Ireland… Mark my words!!
