CONOR McGREGOR should not have been interviewed after his horror leg break injury, the Irishman’s training partner Artem Lobov said.
McGregor’s trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10 ended in chaos after he broke his tibia seconds before the end of round one.
He was therefore beaten by doctor stoppage, but emotions were still running high when UFC commentator Joe Rogan interviewed him.
McGregor, 33, was sitting on the floor with a leg brace on and continued to threaten Poirier, 32, and the American’s wife Jolie, after the defeat.
But he should never have been in that situation in the first place, according to his long-time team-mate and sparring partner Lobov, 34.
He told MMA Fighting: “[McGregor] was still sitting up and I do think interviews shouldn’t even happen in that scenario.
“I’m surprised that it did happen. It shouldn’t have happened, but it is what it is in a way. You have to move on and live to fight another day.
“Now it’s time to heal, train, fix mistakes, and go back again. That’s it.”
McGregor has been handed a six-month medical suspension after he underwent successful surgery in Los Angeles.
But it will not be the first time he has recovered from a major setback, having torn his ACL in 2013 while still beating Max Holloway.
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McGregor was out for a full year, but returned with a win against Diego Brandao and 12 months later went on to win UFC gold.
Lobov was there to witness the remarkable turnaround first hand, and has backed the former two-weight champion to do it all over again.
He said: “This is gonna be a process of healing and recovery first and then slowly build it back up because then you’re going to have to build some confidence in it.
“But you know, after something like this, it’s still going to take you some time, I would imagine, to start healing and kicking with it.
“It’s going to be a slow process, but I remember when Conor came back from his ACL injury, he’s done that twice, he did it better than anyone before him.
“I have no doubt it’s going to be the same result this time.”
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