Conor McGregor has vowed to make another return to the Octagon, but UFC legend Daniel Cormier questions whether the fans would get behind the Irishman again. The former two-division UFC champion ended a five-year hiatus on Saturday night when he took on Max Holloway - 13 years after their initial encounter. On that night, McGregor would go on to win on points in Boston, but their rematch played out rather differently.
Just seconds into the opening round, McGregor appeared to have injured his knee after throwing a spinning kick and landing rather awkwardly on his right side. The 37-year-old did his best to continue, but after falling to the canvas on multiple occasions, the referee eventually waved off the clash after just 69 seconds.
McGregor Insists He Will Return
Immediately after the underwhelming contest, fans suggested that the Irishman was carrying an injury going into the fight. However, McGregor insisted he was fit, and promised he would be back. “I was so sharp and so ready for this fight I cannot believe what has happened," he wrote on social media.
"The talk of me being off while walking in to the fight is nonsense. I was calm, ready, and confident. I am in shock what has taken place. The devil is literally staring at me right in front of my face here. I am not engaging. I will be at church tomorrow. I will overcome this. I will not be deterred. I will return."
Cormier Casts Doubt
Despite McGregor's insistence he will fight again, Cormier has his doubts. "The question now becomes does Conor McGregor have it in him to come back? That is a big ask," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "It's big of us to ask Conor McGregor, if his knee is blown out, to go through another year of rehab, another year of the sacrifices, the pain that it takes to work yourself back to a professional mixed martial artist – especially when you have the money that Conor McGregor has. That's a big ask."
"And if you ask me truthfully, I am more likely to tell you that it's not going to happen than it will happen. He's very unique, and I think the whole week showed that he's the biggest star we have. The whole week showed that. I just wonder if he even does try to come back once again, do people even buy into it again and say they want to see Conor McGregor go at it one more time? It really sucks, as well, because the card itself was insane."
Coach and Cormier Defend McGregor's Opening Move
Fans criticised McGregor's decision to throw a kick right from the word go, but Cormier was quick to leap to the defence of the Dubliner. “There have been times when people did crazy things to start a fight, and they worked," he said. "I remember Fabricio Werdum ran across the Octagon and superkicked Travis Browne like he was in the game Double Dragon. Jorge Masvidal did it to Ben Askren. Sure, everyone's mad because it went sideways. But if Conor had landed it, everybody would've praised him."
The Irishman's coach, John Kavanagh, echoed Cormier's comments, saying: “Devastated," he wrote on social media. "That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warm up. Never an issue. Knee went when he threw the very first kick. Doesn’t get any worse than this. Looking forward to seeing my family in a few days."
