CONOR McGREGOR'S own words have come back to bite him EIGHT YEARS later after pulling out of UFC 303.
McGregor was forced to withdraw from a fight for the first time in his UFC career having broken his toe just weeks before facing Michael Chandler.
During his meteoric rise, McGregor was renowned for never pulling out and fighting through injury.
In 2016, he infamously hit out at Dos Anjos for withdrawing from their scheduled title bout with a broken foot.
McGregor said at the time: "I looked at the picture that dos Anjos put up and it's a bruise
"I heard ice works wonders. What do you want me to say? Did you see it? It's a bruise. Ice. Ibuprofen.
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"If I jumped under an X-ray [with that], the doctor would slap me and say, 'What are you doing kid? Get out of here, stop this.'"
McGregor, almost a decade later, took to social media to reveal an X-Ray of his broken toe and pictures of the bruised pinky.
Dos Anjos, 39, was quick to hit back and compared the injured toe to his gruesomely swollen left foot.
He posted: "That’s the difference between me and you Conor, you finally got exposed.
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"You got a pinky toe injury while I got a broken foot."
In a separate post, he goaded: "It’s just a bruise, take some ibuprofen."
McGregor, 35, has not fought since July 2021 when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier, 35.
But with so much on the line in his return, McGregor insisted he could not take the risk of fighting Chandler, 38, injured.
He wrote: "It needs a few weeks that’s it. I couldn’t justify to my team, or fans, that I make the walk hindered again.
"That walk has been seen. This next walk has got to be, and it will be, 100 per cent Conor McGregor.
"The fans deserve it and we are getting close. A slight lapse in concentration and a nuisance of an injury was picked up," McGregor wrote.
"That’s it. Take the lesson and move forward. I will get this back. I’ve got too. I’ve got two fights left on my contract.
"I’ve got Bugattis and more yachts on my mind. I’m coming to shine. I gotta just take my time.
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"Cos I still got yachts and Bentleys and mansions and all the rest. Ya know yaself.
"But ya get me, I’ll be back. See ya’s soon. See ya at the top. Chandler or not."