‘We wouldn’t let them compete’: McGregor’s claims that authorities knew he was injured before UFC 264 defeat refuted by commission

Conor McGregor's claim that his leg injury was common knowledge before UFC 264 has been thrown into doubt by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which has commented after he suffered a horrific leg break at the end of the first round.

Falling to 1-3 in his last four outings, McGregor lost his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier as part of the main event in Las Vegas after fracturing his lower tibia and fibula. 

Hauled out on a stretcher following a foul-mouthed outburst at his opponent and wife Jolie, the Irishman underwent three hours of surgery on Sunday and was released from hospital on his 33rd birthday on Wednesday, copping a medical suspension until 2022. 

The following day, he took to Instagram to make a bold claim while riding around Los Angeles on an electric cart.

"I was injured going into the fight," 'Notorious' said. "People were asking me when was the leg break – at what point did the leg break? Ask Dana White. Ask the UFC. Ask Dr. Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC.

"They knew. My leg – I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage."

Later that evening, McGregor also shared alleged photos from his training camp that showed his leg wrapped while receiving medical attention alongside X-rays.

Yesterday, he also made a string of posts in which he branded himself the "greatest of all time" and the "richest and baddest" of them all.

His comments raised questions as to whether the UFC and commission knew about McGregor's potential injury pre-fight, with the promotion rejecting requests from one notable MMA site to pass comment, while the commission refused its public records request for access to McGregor's pre-fight medical questionnaire.

Without directly mentioning the fighter in question, however, commission executive director Bob Bennett insisted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had no knowledge of McGregor's pre-existing knock.

"If we ever knowingly had information a fighter wasn’t fit to fight, we wouldn’t let them compete," he stated.

"It would go to a doctor, and a doctor would make that decision as the expert."

Online, MMA fans immediately took to social media, with one noting: "[Dominick] Cruz hit the nail right on the head.

"Until Conor accepts blame instead of making excuses or pinpointing one thing, he will never improve or start winning again."

"Excuses are like a**holes, everyone has one," quipped another.

"He is done," another said alongside a trio of emoji gravestones. "Conor McTapper, Conor McSnapper, Conor McLoser, Conor McLiar… Wwich one is your favorite Conor?"

"Conor threw Dana and the UFC under the bus by saying they knew he went into the fight with stress fractures. Whether he's lying, or not isn't even the issue," it was pointed out.

"It's a bad look for the UFC to have their biggest star making such claims.

But others fought McGregor's corner, with a backer saying: "This is the same commission that somehow missed Kevin Lee's staph infection. For that reason, I'm hesitant to believe them."