Conor McGregor is always full of energy and enthusiasm. However, it was a shock when ‘The Notorious’ was seen crying backstage in ‘McGregor Forever’ after his UFC 229 defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov. The video clip from the documentary went viral and the MMA fans have shared their reactions on social media.
The fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the biggest UFC fight in terms of pay-per-view sales. But there was a lot of chaos leading up to that fight. The Dagestan star even attacked McGregor’s team after retaining his title.
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Conor McGregor has an emotional breakdown backstage after UFC 229 defeat
The rivalry between McGregor and Nurmagomedov became very personal in the lead-up to the fight. The animosity between the two stars was visible to the fans to see during the press conferences. Things did not turn in McGregor’s favor as he got submitted in the fourth round, following which a brawl broke down.
USA Today via Reuters
MMA: UFC 229-Nurmagomedov vs McGregor, Oct 6, 2018 Las Vegas, NV, USA Khabib Nurmagomedov red gloves fights Conor McGregor blue gloves during UFC 229 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports, 06.10.2018 21:59:59, 11394153, NPStrans, T-Mobile Arena, Khabib Nurmagomedov, wow, MMA, TopPic, Conor McGregor PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxR.xSylvaniex 11394153
The Irishman’s new documentary shows a moment from the aftermath of UFC 229, where he broke down crying as his coach, John Kavanagh, tried to comfort him. Dana White also appeared to be backstage with ‘The Notorious’ to console him. The UFC president also revealed that he wasn’t aware of the fact that Khabib Nurmagomedov would jump out of the cage to attack his team after the fight. It clearly wasn’t one of McGregor’s best days in the promotion. But the fighter didn’t care about that as much as he did about losing the fight. He said, “I don’t give a f*** about that… I was beat. That’s that.”
Fans react to an emotional ‘champ champ’
There were a lot of fans who had some positive things to say about McGregor.
One fan lauded Conor McGregor for keeping things real after the fight.
Props to McGregor for staying real. People need to understand that real alpha savages still exist. These are people like McGregor, Ngannou & I would put myself in that category too. I feel like we are bonded by the fact that we are like alpha Chimpanzees.
— samir (@gurkhaMMA) May 17, 2023
Another fan claims that Khabib Nurmagomedov was a “weight bully” and berated him for retiring at the peak of his MMA career.
He was fightin a weight bully pull out merchant who retired in his prime because he's a parent-directed manchild.
— Fats (@fatone9000) May 17, 2023
Khabib was just too big for him if they were naturally the same size I think Connor wins but khabib is a substantially bigger man naturally
— chip (@Kennethjonlan) May 17, 2023
A Twitter user praised McGregor’s performance and even claimed that he won the third round of the fight.
tbh he did really good against him, he even won round 3
— C.Montalvo (@gtavc0007) May 17, 2023
Some fans were surprised to see the emotional side of an overtly outspoken McGregor.
It’s so rare to have a sportsman who is as outspoken as McGregor, then show humility in defeat.
— S.Drake (@stuey_drake) May 17, 2023
A fan pointed out how much the former double champion cares about the sport of MMA.
People thinking he doesn’t care about this sport are very mistaken, you can see the passion he has
— ™️ (@MLTONY9) May 17, 2023
They were happy to see another side of McGregor that they’d never witnessed before.
Good to see this side of McGregor. True competitor.
— Brent (@Brent75384341) May 17, 2023
This guy really loves this sport. PERIOD!!!
— Ayush agarwal (@ayuimsh) May 17, 2023
All in all, the fans were happy to see how passionate the Irishman is in relation to his craft and his disciple.
There will always be ups and down in an athlete’s career and Conor McGregor is no different. Some even believe that his UFC 229 loss started a downward spiral. But McGregor is back in good spirits and ready to make an impact in his comeback fight later in the months to come.
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Written by
Edited by
Rohini Kottu