Ion Pascu vs. Conor McGregor
Bellator fighter Ion Pascu was part of Conor McGregor’s fight camp for UFC 229 last year and tasted firsthand just how hard the Irish superstar hits.
In the lead up to his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, ‘The Notorious’ was asked about an apparent injury to his hand, which led to him explaining how it had came about as the result of a gruesome sparring session with Pascu, who holds an 18-9 MMA record.
“Only the strong survive around this game,” McGregor told Ariel Helwani. “I was fighting a 90 kilo fighter, Ion Pascu, he’s a great solid fighter. They call him the bomber. Like me, I sometimes spar without a gum shield. I was sparring this guy, The Bomber, and I smacked him with a clean shot, and his tooth embedded into me.
“A man’s tooth was embedded into my knuckle. Welcome to the fight game. The real fight game. Not that tip-tap sh-t 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.”
