What if Conor McGregor‘s biggest challenge at UFC 329 is not Max Holloway? Fighting an in-form and in-his-prime Max is a daunting challenge for anyone, let alone for McGregor, who has been sidelined for five years. But Chael Sonnen thinks there is another battle McGregor will be fighting in the Octagon that does not involve Max Holloway.

“So, let’s make a case for Conor,” Sonnen said in his recent YouTube video. “He hasn’t been in there. He’s dealing with a leg injury. One guy that had that same leg injury and spoke candidly about it is Chris Weidman, Hall of Famer, world champion, one of the GOATs. 

“Chris Weidman is that good. And he said, ‘Man, I questioned that leg. I questioned, should I throw it for a kick? I questioned, can I take a kick? I questioned, can I push off it? I questioned, should I lead it, or should I stash it behind me and switch my stance?’ So, Conor’s going to be dealing with those things. No matter what, Conor is not Superman.”   

Former 185 lbs championChris Weidman suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in UFC history after Uriah Hall checked his leg kick at UFC 261 in 2021. Fortunately, Weidman successfully recovered from that injury. But he later revealed going through a tough mental battle before making a comeback.

Ahead of his fight against Brad Tavares at UFC 292, Weidman stated in an interview with Ariel Helwani back in 2023 that he planned to start the fight by throwing a leg kick to get rid of those inhibitions. Eventually, he landed two leg kicks against Tavares. That said, Conor McGregor has also shared his thoughts about using his surgically repaired leg to kick in fights. 

In an interview with Helwani in 2023, a year before his cancelled fight against Michael Chandler, McGregor admitted that, at one point, he thought he would never make the walk again. But slowly and steadily, the Dublin native regained the confidence to throw kicks once again.

“I’m able to kick with it,” McGregor said. “I’m kicking hard, I’m kicking fast. And you best believe I’m looking to take this guy out with the steel bar in my leg, for sure.”   

Before McGregor and Weidman, the legendary Anderson Silva broke his leg against Weidman at UFC 168 in 2013 after throwing a hard leg kick. Following that incident, the Brazilian legend opened up about falling into a deep “depression.” However, ‘The Spider’ eventually overcame those fearful thoughts, returned to competition in 2015, and fought seven more times (losing five of those) before ultimately exiting the UFC in 2020. 

In just a week, almost five years to the day since he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, McGregor will return to action at the T-Mobile Arena, where he was carried out of the cage last time. This is a rematch thirteen years in the making, and ‘The Notorious’ has a lot to prove to his fans and to himself.