Chael Sonnen says something about Conor McGregor’s knee injury no longer fits the public timeline, and a recent rowing workout has only made the questions harder to ignore.
The retired fighter and longtime MMA analyst reacted after seeing McGregor exercising at home with what appeared to be a surprisingly wide range of motion in the injured leg. Sonnen also watched a medical breakdown by Dr. Brian Sutterer, who reportedly noticed some of the same details.
McGregor said after his July 11 loss to Max Holloway that he had torn both his ACL and meniscus. If that diagnosis remains accurate, Sonnen wants to know why surgery has not yet happened and how McGregor is already moving well enough to use a rowing machine.
“I don’t have an answer to this,” Sonnen said. “Why hasn’t Conor had surgery?”
The Rowing Video Raised New Questions
Sonnen said McGregor recently posted a video of himself rowing outdoors at home, accompanied by an optimistic message about always finding a way forward.
The footage appeared recent because McGregor was wearing the mohawk he received around the time of the Holloway fight, making it unlikely that the workout had been recorded months earlier and reused.
That detail mattered because old training footage is sometimes presented as proof of an athlete’s current condition. Sonnen cited other examples from combat sports in which viewers recognized recycled clips by clothing, location, or familiar training sequences.
In McGregor’s case, the hairstyle appeared to place the workout within weeks of the injury.
The exercise itself was not especially intense, Sonnen acknowledged, and rowing could be part of “prehab,” the process of strengthening the muscles around an injured joint before surgery. Doctors sometimes want the quadriceps and hamstrings in better condition before repairing a damaged knee.
What caught Sonnen’s attention was not the effort level, but the motion.
McGregor appeared to be bending and extending the leg through a substantial range, which Sonnen found surprising for someone believed to have suffered a serious ACL and meniscus injury so recently.
Dr. Sutterer, who regularly analyzes sports injuries, was also surprised by the movement, according to Sonnen.
What Happened Against Max Holloway
McGregor’s knee appeared to fail early in his rematch with Holloway, ending the long-awaited comeback shortly after it began.
Sonnen said viewers could see an unusual displacement through McGregor’s foot, ankle, and knee during the sequence. UFC commentator Joe Rogan immediately appeared confident that the ACL had torn.
“We all saw what Joe Rogan saw,” Sonnen said.
McGregor later stated publicly that the injury involved both his ACL and meniscus, the same combination he had reportedly suffered in the opposite leg during his first fight with Holloway years earlier.
Despite the pain, McGregor walked out of the Octagon and later made his way toward the ambulance. Sonnen contrasted that with McGregor’s previous leg injury against Dustin Poirier, after which he could not leave the cage under his own power.
That did not mean the knee was healthy, but it suggested that McGregor retained more movement than some viewers expected.
Sonnen described the walk as partly symbolic, as though McGregor had decided that he would leave on his own rather than be carried out again.
The later rowing video took that observation further. A fighter who could walk immediately afterward and then perform repeated knee movements weeks later may still be seriously injured, but Sonnen believes the visible mobility deserves an explanation.
Surgery Should Not Be Difficult to Arrange
Sonnen rejected the idea that ordinary scheduling delays would explain why McGregor had not undergone surgery.
For many patients, an operation could be scheduled weeks or months away, but McGregor has access to UFC medical resources, personal transportation, money, and specialists around the world.
“If there was a surgery in Colombia, Conor has an ability to get to it,” Sonnen said.
That does not mean surgery must happen immediately after every ACL injury. Swelling, mobility, muscle strength, medical planning, and the athlete’s individual condition can all influence timing.
Still, Sonnen’s point was that McGregor’s resources make it unlikely that he is simply waiting for an appointment.
The delay becomes even more interesting because McGregor has reportedly spoken confidently about fighting Holloway again at 170 pounds on April 24 of the following year.
An ACL recovery is often described in terms of many months, and Sonnen said some estimates put the process near eight months before full competition becomes realistic.
If the surgery has not started that clock, planning a firm return date becomes difficult.
“How would you know that if you don’t have the surgery?” Sonnen asked.
That is the central contradiction in his argument. McGregor is speaking as though the comeback schedule is already known, while the public has not seen evidence that the major procedure expected to begin that recovery has taken place.
Was the Original Diagnosis Less Severe?
Sonnen offered several possibilities without claiming to know which one was correct.
The first was that McGregor may have spoken before doctors had completed all imaging and gathered every detail. Early diagnoses after fights are sometimes based on physical movement tests, visible instability, pain, and the way the injury occurred.
A doctor can make a strong initial assessment backstage, but scans may later show a different level or type of damage.
Sonnen recalled cases in which medical teams correctly recognized a torn ligament before imaging confirmed it. He mentioned watching Vinny Magalhães suffer a badly damaged leg against Craig Jones, with the joint moving in a way that strongly suggested the absence of a functioning ACL.
In that case, later imaging supported what observers had already suspected.
But early conclusions are not always right.
Sonnen also referenced Jiří Procházka, saying an initial injury assessment once became serious enough to create talk that his career might be over, only for the diagnosis to later prove inaccurate.
That history leaves room for the possibility that McGregor received a second opinion or that the ACL and meniscus damage was less severe than first believed.
“Is it possible that there has been a second opinion?” Sonnen asked.
He hoped that was the explanation, because it would mean McGregor’s knee was in better condition than the original reports suggested.
The Max Holloway Rematch Complicates Everything
Sonnen does not believe McGregor will simply abandon the idea of fighting Holloway again.
Their July rematch ended because of the knee injury rather than a long competitive battle, leaving McGregor with an obvious reason to seek another chance. Sonnen believes McGregor will continue pressing for that fight and may ultimately compete again even if the exact opponent changes.
The UFC, however, faces a difficult scheduling decision.
McGregor remains one of the promotion’s largest attractions, but Holloway also carries major value. If the UFC holds Holloway out until April 2027 for a third McGregor fight, it would effectively remove both men from other opportunities.
Booking Holloway in November or December could create another problem. A separate fight would carry injury risk and might not advance him toward a championship if he is already expected to leave his normal division for a non-title bout with McGregor.
Sonnen said the UFC must decide whether the matchup is real enough to justify keeping Holloway unavailable.
He also questioned whether McGregor would benefit from returning directly against such a difficult opponent after surgery, a lengthy layoff, and a short training camp.
McGregor had already spent years away before the Holloway fight. Another eight or nine months of recovery followed by only several weeks of serious preparation would leave him trying to remove ring rust against one of the sport’s most experienced and durable fighters.
“I don’t love that,” Sonnen said.
Something About the Timeline Does Not Add Up
Even the more optimistic possibility creates questions.
Suppose McGregor does not need surgery and can train normally. Sonnen wondered whether spending roughly 10 months preparing for one fight would actually produce major improvement for an athlete who has already reached the highest level of the sport.
A new fighter can transform over that period, but a veteran with McGregor’s experience is more likely to maintain his abilities than make a dramatic technical leap.
That makes both possible timelines awkward.
If the injury is as severe as first reported, McGregor may have little time to recover and prepare. If it is not severe, holding him out for nearly a year may create an unusually long buildup without a clear physical reason.
The rowing footage does not prove the original diagnosis was wrong, and neither Sonnen nor Sutterer examined McGregor personally. Range of motion alone cannot reveal the full condition of a ligament or meniscus.
Still, it is reasonable to ask why a man believed to need major knee reconstruction appears mobile, is already exercising, has discussed a specific return date, and has not publicly undergone the expected operation.
Sonnen stopped short of accusing anyone of hiding the truth. His hope was that McGregor had received better news after further medical review.
“How is that knee moving so well?” he asked. “I hope there was a second opinion.”
Until McGregor or his medical team provides a clearer update, the injury remains surrounded by more questions than answers. The official story may still prove correct, but as Sonnen argued, the visible movement, missing surgery, and confident fight plans do not yet form a clean timeline.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
