‘You cannot fight’ — Joe Rogan explains why Conor McGregor should have pulled out of one UFC bout

Joe Rogan would’ve told Conor McGregor to withdraw from his trilogy with Dustin Poirier if he had been the Irishman’s friend.

UFC commentator Rogan explained McGregor was simply too compromised for the blockbuster bout, which ended with the fighter snapping his leg in a TKO defeat.

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What happened in Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3?

McGregor fought Poirier for the third time at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The now-37-year-old had started the year by tasting defeat to ‘The Diamond’ in the first and only knockout loss of his UFC career to date.

McGregor wanted to get back inside the octagon as soon as possible to exact revenge on his American rival, so the pair were booked to fight again six months later.

‘The Notorious’ was hoping for a similar performance to when the pair first met in September 2014, when he stopped Poirier in the first round.

However, in the final seconds of round one in his third meeting with Poirier, McGregor winced in agony as his leg gave way and Poirier had his arm raised again.

Joe Rogan: I would’ve told McGregor you cannot fight

Speaking on his MMA Show with UFC middleweight Brendan Allen, Rogan was discussing the worst injuries he’s seen in the sport, and explained why Poirier-McGregor 3 should never have gone down.

“You know what creeps me the most? Broken shins,” Rogan explained.

“When I see that shin check and the shin snaps, I’m like, ‘Ahhh.’

“If there’s ever a fight where I think a guy should’ve pulled out that didn’t, and if I was his friend, I would’ve told him, ‘You cannot fight.’

“It’s Conor, when he fought Dustin. The third fight with Dustin when his shin snapped in half.

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“They knew that he had some sort of hairline fracture in his shin. He already had MRIs and everything — they knew something was wrong with it.”

Reflecting on McGregor’s sickening injury, Rogan added: “It didn’t even go shin to knee like it usually snaps — that’s how compromised it was.

“If you watch that fight, there is one time where Dustin checks a kick, and he looked at him, pointed at him and was like, ‘I know that hurt you b****.’

“He got in his head, and that was also after Dustin had just KOd him in the last fight.

“It was weird because in the first fight, it was like nice guy Conor. It was nice guy Conor, even after the fight.

“After the fight, he was being cool, he got KOd, his leg got f***ed up from those calf kicks, and after the fight, he was so respectful, and everyone was like, ‘Look, Conor turned a corner!’

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“Not the third one, bro. ‘You’re girls in me DMs!’ It’s a crazy thing to say while you’re lying there with a broken leg.”

McGregor hasn’t fought since his third bout with Poirier in the summer of 2021, but the Irishman has repeatedly stated that he will return for UFC White House.

It was 10 years ago today, on December 12, 2015, when McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to become the UFC featherweight champion

He lost to Nate Diaz in his next fight but bounced back by defeating the American in their rematch.

McGregor then made UFC history by stopping Eddie Alvarez to become the first simultaneous champion in Dana White‘s promotion.

After boxing Floyd Mayweather, McGregor returned to conclude his bitter rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

He was submitted in the fourth round by Nurmagomedov, but overcame Donald Cerrone in another comeback fight at UFC 246, before his consecutive defeats to Poirier.