"Making sure that leg is cherry" - Conor McGregor shows swift kick-checking drills ahead of highly anticipated UFC comeback

While he remains the UFC’s most recognizable star, it’s now been well over two years since we last saw Conor McGregor fight.

Part of the reason for the absence of ‘The Notorious’ is what happened to him during his last trip to the octagon. Conor McGregor famously suffered a serious injury in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, with his left tibia snapping during the second round. This resulted in the Irishman being defeated by TKO.

Despite not fighting since this incident, McGregor has remained highly visible to UFC fans. Most notably, he coached on the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter earlier this year, going head-to-head with rival Michael Chandler.

The two men were rumored to face off at the end of 2023, but with just two months remaining this year, that is now off the cards.

However, it was announced by Dana White at the weekend that McGregor would be officially re-entering USADA’s drug-testing pool this week, making him eligible to fight in 2024.

Now, ‘The Notorious’ has posted a video to his Instagram page demonstrating some kick-checking drills that he clearly hopes will prevent another injury like the one he suffered against ‘The Diamond’.

Unsurprisingly, the video has garnered plenty of attention from fans and fellow fighters alike, with UFC bantamweight Trevin Jones suggesting McGregor is “making sure that leg is cherry” before he fights again.

Trevin Jones comments on McGregor's Instagram post [Image Credit: @TheNotoriousMMA on Instagram]

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Conor McGregor's comeback: Will the Irishman’s fight with Michael Chandler be announced this week?

It feels like UFC fans have been waiting a lifetime for the long-awaited fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler to be officially announced.

The lightweight stars coached TUF 31 against one another earlier this year with the idea being for them to face off before the end of 2023. However, as of the time of writing, a date for the fight has still not been given, with most observers now expecting it to happen at some point in 2024.

Could this week see the fight officially announced, though? Some fans think that this is the case, largely because of a couple of hints from Chandler on Twitter.

Yesterday saw ‘Iron Mike’ suggest that this week would be a big one, while today has seen him state that he’s had a visit from USADA and that the “ball is rolling” when it comes to his fight with ‘The Notorious’.