Conor McGregor has said he had "multiple stress fractures" to his shinbone heading into his bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 - where a broken leg resulted in a defeat for the Irishman.
McGregor, 33, was aiming to settle the trilogy with Poirier having lost to the American at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi in January, but the fight ended at the end of the first round when the former champion rolled his ankle and broke the lower tibia in his left shin. The fight was called off by the doctors and the victory awarded to 32-year-old Poirier.
McGregor underwent surgery in California and on Thursday posted a video to his Instagram account to provide an update of his recovery and to thank the fans for their support. He also revealed that he carried shin injuries into the bout in Las Vegas and there were discussions to delay the fight.
"Everyone keeps asking me at what point did the leg break," McGregor said as he cruised around in a motor scooter with his leg elevated in a cast. "Ask [UFC president] Dana White, ask the UFC, ask Dr [Jeffrey] Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew ... I had stress fractures on my leg going into that cage.
"There was debate about pulling the thing out because I was sparring with no shin pads and I kicked the knee a few times, so I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle.
"I even did a lot of training sessions when the ankle was sore, I still wouldn't stop training. I used to train on my back and that's how I developed those ground and pound shots from the back.
"It was a skill I developed because of the damaged leg and I had to adjust my training."
Facing a long road to recovery, McGregor - who turned 33 on Wednesday - said he is "motivated to keep going".
"When I came out of surgery I was feeling euphoric," he said. "It was a great job that was done. I was thinking 'yes, this is going to be easy, I can do this no problem'. Then I hit a wall and I was thinking ... 'I'm in a lot of pain, I'm going to be like this for a while ... it's going to be a bit of time'. I know there is going to be ups and downs on this journey and I'm a bit more accepting of it and I'm motivated to keep going."
McGregor revealed that he has had a titanium rod inserted into his leg "from the knee to the ankle" and he joked: "I'm like Arnie (Schwarzenegger) in Terminator 2."
Play-off fixtures
Two-legged ties to be played November 9-11 and November 12-14
- Northern Ireland v Switzerland
- Croatia v Greece
- Denmark v Ireland
- Sweden v Italy
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
