UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor Gives His Opinion About Ronda Rousey’s Move To The WWE…
After ending her year-long hiatus away from the media, Ronda Rousey finally stepped out in public again at last weekend’s Royal Rumble. The news that the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has officially signed for the WWE has been met with mixed reactions from her fellow professional fighters.
However, one of her fellow champions says he could not be any happier for her. UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has been very vocal on social media over the past couple of weeks. Over the last few days, he’s been involved in a back and forth with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The brash Irishman has managed to find some time to praise Rousey’s move.
Rousey and McGregor were simultaneously the two biggest stars that the UFC has ever had at the same time. The organization’s MMA cards suffered due to a lack of mainstream star power in 2017, as neither Rousey nor McGregor appeared in the octagon.
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Softer Side
McGregor spoke to reporters in New York on Wednesday night. The Irishman was in the Big Apple to attend a Gala Ball, where he helped to raise $800,000 for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Crumlin. McGregor contributed towards this fantastic sum of money and has a history of giving generous donations to the hospital.
He was asked what he thought about Ronda Rousey’s move into professional wrestling. Anyone hoping for a negative reaction would have been severely disappointed. He said:
“I’m delighted for her, absolutely over the moon for her. She looked like she really enjoyed herself at the event and I was very very happy to see her.”
Mutual Respect
Rousey is of course somewhat notorious for her lack of tolerance for the media since her simultaneous defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. The UFC women’s featherweight champion, and one-time rival of Rousey, Cris Cyborg even went as far as saying that ‘Rowdy’ might need professional help. Not in McGregor’s eyes.
“She’s a pioneer for the game, and she’s came through it all and faced big wins and big, big losses, and she came through it,” said McGregor. “And it’s great to see her represent herself and mixed martial arts and have fun in WWE, I know she’s been a big fan of it through all her life, and it’s great to see that.”
Options Are Open
A very relaxed McGregor spoke about his own future, which appears very much to be in the UFC. He has been linked to the WWE to the past, and while he may one day appear there, he is looking towards a return to the octagon. He said:
“I’m currently in negotiations to face my next opponent. We have many options. There’s the current interim lightweight champion, there’s an undefeated Dagestani, there’s maybe a big Russian fight, there’s obviously the Diaz trilogy, of course the Mayweather fight is there… we have many options.”
It’s fair to say that McGregor respects Rousey for keeping her options open and choosing the one that is best for her. She said that although she had more lucrative offers on the table, in the end, the WWE move was the one that would make her most happy. It is very likely that McGregor will take a similar approach in managing his own future.
