Conor McGregor feared he would die when a car smashed into the UFC star while he was on his bike.
The legendary UFC fighter has been ramping up his training for a comeback, and was cycling through the Irish countryside when a driver hit into him from behind, leading to him being sent from his bike. It appears that the 34-year-old emerged with minimal injuries, and spent time calming the driver who had hit him after the incident.
He posted a video showing the pair talking immediately after being hit, as well as one where he and the man who was driving are in the car. McGregor needed to be given a lift home by his countryman after his bike was left totalled during the incident although he appeared to be thankful to have survived.
"Got a bang of a car just now from behind," McGregor wrote in an Instagram post about his experience. "A sun trap, the driver couldn’t see me. Full spreed straight through me. Thank you God, it wasn’t my time. Thank you wrestling and judo also. Having an awareness on the landing saved my life."
In the videos, McGregor can be seen surveying the scene before telling the driver: "All good mate, don't worry about it. That's nasty, I could have been dead there. Jesus Christ.. I got away with my life there, boys." Later, being given a lift with the driver who hit him, McGregor added: "I'm here with Mick... Mick smacked me with his car.
"We've got the bike in the back, it wasn't our time, Mick, that's all. God bless, and we're f***in' still here, thank God. That's all that matters." The timing of a serious injury would have been catastrophic for McGregor, who is due to return to the octagon as soon as this summer.
The Irishman will be back in the USADA testing pool next month, which means he will need an extended period of drug testing before he can return. But once he has been cleared, he plans to get straight back into action after suffering a broken leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier that cost him two years of his career.
McGregor has teased an appearance as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, with Tony Ferguson his likely adversary. Generally, the coaches on the reality TV show tend to fight one another at the end of the season, which would make him his next opponent, although the last time the Irishman appeared on the programme in 2015 he never fought his opposite number Urijah Faber.
