Getty Conor McGregor hopes to grab UFC gold again soon, but the winner of UFC 262 will be tough to beat.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor lost via second-round knockout to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, but the Irishman still had some choice words after the fight for one of his biggest rivals.
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had blasted McGregor via social media, and McGregor didn’t like what he saw in that post.
Nurmagomedov posted, “This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality.”
This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality.
McGregor Responds to Nurmagomedov
McGregor was read those comments by a member of the media during the post-fight press conference for UFC 257, and the UFC superstar proceeded to offer his response to his arch-nemesis from the podium.
“My team has been the [same] team since day one. I haven’t changed anything. It is what it is,” McGregor said.
Then, McGregor called Nurmagomedov’s character into question. Moreover, McGregor suggested Nurmagomedov had no business commenting about McGregor’s loss to Poirier.
McGregor said, “Respect the athletes. That’s the character of the man for sure behind the mask. Whatever. What’s he want to do? Does he want to come back or no? Because he’s not throwing those leg kicks. You know what I mean?”
Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018 in the best-selling UFC pay-per-view event in history.
A rematch was thought to be possible if McGregor had defeated Poirer at UFC 257 over the weekend, but now it seems the superfight is more off the table than ever before.
McGregor continued, “Like I said, styles make fights. Every fight is a different fight. That’s why all this prestige and stuff that people try to hold onto…whether someone has multiple wins or multiple losses. Every fight between every man is different. That’s it. Dustin’s style played into it. He has the durability. He has the experience. He has that leg kick now.”
McGregor Praises Calf-Kick
Poirier’s thudding calf-kick started giving McGregor serious trouble during the second round of the fight. Before the Irishman knew it, his front leg was basically dead, and Poirier had jumped on him for the finish inside boxing range.
It was an amazing turn of events. Not only had Poirier exorcised the demons from six years ago when McGregor stopped him in less than two minutes, but the American had turned the tide from the first round when things seemed to be going McGregor’s way at UFC 257.
No one shines brighter.
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McGregor Slams Rival for ‘Disrespectful Comments’
McGregor was humble in defeat, but he didn’t seem to appreciate Nurmagomedov kicking him while he was down.
“But if he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let’s go again, my man. I’m here for it. That’s fighting talk. If you’re going to come back, come back. You try and do it,” McGregor said.
The two UFC superstars might never fight each other again, but their bitter rivalry will likely continue through interviews and social media posts for years to come.
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