Conor McGregor after his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. Photo / Getty
Conor McGregor after his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. Photo / Getty
Conor McGregor has been medically suspended for six months after his second-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.
The former two-division champ was spotted on crutches after taking several brutal leg kicks from Poirier during the fight.
McGregor, who won his first fight against Poirier in 2014, wants to meet the American again in a trilogy bout.
The loss is a major blow for McGregor's ambitions to land a lucrative rematch against rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, while also delaying his quest to reclaim the lightweight title.
But now any plans to get back into the octagon will have to wait a little bit longer, with Mixed Martial Arts confirming the Irish superstar has been medically suspended by the UFC for six months.
The 32-year-old is also banned from contact for 30 days after getting knocked out, but can return to full training after 45 days if he receives a negative X-ray on his right tibia/fibula.
Poirier, on the other hand, has received the standard seven days mandatory rest.
"Of course. I need activity, guys, come on. You don't get away with being inactive and that's the way it is," he said after the fight.
"I'll take my licks. I'm gutted, to be honest. I'm gutted. I put so much work in.
"Well done, Dustin. We're one and one. Good man. It's a tough one to swallow.
"I put in a lot of work, I'm proud of my work. I would've liked to have represented my team a little bit better. But we'll get to go again and that's it."
McGregor's trainer John Kavanagh also backed him to bounce back.
"We had a big fight and unfortunately we came up short but here's the secret; you will live with it, we are all disappointed but we're OK," Kavanagh said on an Instagram Live broadcast.
"In Conor's case, the last six months have been amazing.
"The discipline and effort he put in … when you've done that, when you've left no stone unturned, you've made every training session, you've made weight the right way, you've make the walk, competed as hard as you could.
"Competition has two sides to the coin, winning and losing, and sometimes it's going to fall on the losing side.
"That's something you have to get used to; the quicker you get used to losing, the quicker you are going to have success."
