Conor McGregor has been medically suspended for six months after his UFC 257 defeat by Dustin Poirier.
The former two-division champion, 32, suffered a devastating second-round KO loss to Poirier on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
McGregor was spotted on crutches the next day after he was caught by a series of devastating kicks from the American, whom he now wants to meet in a trilogy showdown.
That was his third setback in his last six octagon outings and has shattered his hopes of landing a money-making rematch with rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
It has also delayed his quest to reclaim the lightweight title — although he has vowed to bounce back and fight again as quickly as possible.
But now the Irishman will have to wait a little longer than he hoped for to get back to business.
MMA.tv, which is the official record keeper for the Association of Boxing Commissions, has confirmed to MixedMartialArts that the superstar has been medically suspended for six months.
That means, unless he gets cleared by a doctor, he will be unable to fight again until July.
McGregor can return after 45 days if he receives a negative X-ray on his right tibia/fibula.
And he is banned from contact for 30 days following the TKO.
Meanwhile, Poirier has received the standard seven days’ mandatory rest.
Despite his recent setbacks and his huge bank balance, McGregor is adamant he has no intention of calling it a day.
Asked whether he’d fight again in 2021, he said: “Of course, I need activity, guys, come on. You don’t get away with being inactive and that’s the way it is.
“I’ll take my licks. I’m gutted, John, 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.”
And his trainer John Kavanagh backed his comeback while speaking on an Instagram Live broadcast.
“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. “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.”