Conor McGregor practises kicking for first time since breaking leg as anticipation grows over UFC return

The former UFC champion sustained the injury in July, in his second loss to Dustin Poirier in six months

Conor McGregor has finally begun practising kicks for the first time since sustaining a broken leg in his most recent UFC fight.

McGregor suffered the injury at the end of the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier last July, thus losing the contest via TKO (doctor stoppage).

At the start of 2021, Poirier handed McGregor the first knockout loss of the Irishman’s career, avenging his own stoppage defeat by his old rival from the pair’s 2014 clash.

McGregor returned to training in March and has now posted footage of himself practising leg kicks as anticipation grows over his return to the Octagon.

McGregor, 33, had previously teased a summer bout, but it is now thought that the former dual-weight champion will not compete again until the end of this year at the earliest.

“Something like a phenomenon!” McGregor wrote on Instagram, alongside a video of himself kicking a heavy bag repeatedly.

McGregor became the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two weight classes when he added the lightweight belt to his featherweight crown in 2016.

“Notorious” has also fought at welterweight in the promotion but has teased the possibility of a middleweight contest upon his return to the ring, having bulked up significantly over the last year.

Both of McGregor’s fights with Poirier last year took place at lightweight, while the rivals’ initial in-ring meeting was a featherweight bout.