Conor McGregor explains how he damaged his finger ahead of UFC return

Conor McGregor assured eagle-eyed fans that there is no need to be concerned about the mark on his finger.

Viewers of the first UFC 229 press conference two weeks ago noticed an unusual mark on the middle finger of McGregor's left hand and, as is the case with everything with 'The Notorious', the rumour mill went into overdrive. It was speculated that the Irishman could be suffering with a mild staph infection but McGregor has since rubbished those rumours. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion has revealed that he simply sustained a cut to his finger in sparring ahead of his title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor was sparring a teammate who wasn't wearing a gumshield and after a shot from his famous left hand found its target, a tooth became embedded in McGregor's knuckle. "Only the strong survive around this game. I was sparring a 90 kilo fighter, Ion Pascu, he’s a great solid fighter. They call him 'The Bomber'. Like me, I sometimes spar without a gumshield," McGregor explained on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show. https://www.instagram.com/p/BodseVTjIvC/?hl=en&taken-by=ionpascu82 After discussing how he'd sustained a mouth injury following a similar clash in training, McGregor revealed how the hand injury came to pass but insisted that it was nothing serious. He continued: "I was sparring this guy, 'The Bomber', and I smacked him with a clean shot and his tooth embedded into my knuckle. "Tell people not to be stop scanning me up and down! I'm paranoid enough as it is.

"But, yeah, your man’s tooth was embedded into my knuckle and that was it. Welcome to the fight game. The real fight game.

"Not that tip-tap shit you see so much of. You’ve got to get in and do it. You’re either going to do it or you’re not going to do it. Make a decision. It is what it is."