Conor McGregor will undergo surgery as he suffered a horror leg break during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas.
The Irishman had been determined to settle his rivalry with Poirier once and for all but he lasted just one round before a sickening injury forced him to stop and handed victory to his opponent.
WARNING: The below imagery contains graphic material.
McGregor had started aggressively but his left leg collapsed beneath him as he stepped back late in the opening round.
He somehow survived until the end of the round but the referee, Herb Dean, declared there was no way he could continue.
It was a dramatic conclusion to the bout which followed their January rematch.
McGregor was slumped by the side of the octagon, unable to walk, after his second successive defeat.
While ‘The Diamond’ has definitely earned himself a shot at lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, the future of 32-year-old McGregor remains to be seen.
The former two-weight world champion will be in the operating theatre first thing on Monday morning to undergo surgery, and it is almost certain he won't fight again until at least 2022.
“A second leg break in his last three fights,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.
“It’s brutal and not the way you want to see fights end.
“Dustin Poirier will fight for the title and when Conor is healed and ready to go he will do the rematch I guess.
“He goes into surgery in the morning. The fight didn’t get finished. You can't have a fight end that way. We’ll see how it plays out.
“Poirier will do his thing until Conor is ready.”
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