Money was the important factor for Conor McGregor when he agreed to the match with Floyd Mayweather, but he earned more than just money – he earned respect. MMA and boxing are different sports entirely and to have the courage to fight Mayweather, who had 49 wins and 0 losses before the match took place, speaks something of McGregor.
However, after he lost, McGregor showed his heartbreak in a video footage recorded immediately after the duel. In his locker room, McGregor is heard saying: “It feels like I just lost a football match.” He lost in the 10th round when the referee stopped the fight even though the Irishman wanted to continue.
Some would say “Yeah, he got the money,” but his passion for winning is shown in this video. McGregor even apologized to Dana White, head of UFC and joint promoter of the fight, but White responded: “Sorry? Dude, I’m ecstatic!”
Even though McGregor lost, this clip and his post-fight press conference only brought him more popularity. He said: “I didn’t anticipate that. Three game changes in the fight, that’s what a true champion does… I got to give respect for that.” McGregor will return to MMA to fight against Nate Diaz for the third time. Diaz is one of the rare fighters who managed to beat McGregor, but the Irishman avenged his defeat in the second fight.
“I faced him at 170lbs, he beat me,” McGregor said. “I rematched him at 170lbs, I beat him. Now I’m the 155lbs champion – if he wants that fight, he must come down. That’s a fair trade. I didn’t ask for the rematch at a lower weight. I asked for it at the exact same weight. I thought that was a fair play move on my behalf and I came in and I won. So now I won the 155lb title after that, so if he wants the fight he has to make the 155lb limit.”
