All hell has broken loose on social media since last night’s release of the infamous sparring video…
Late last night UFC president Dana White released quite the cracker on his Instagram account. For weeks now everyone has been talking about the sparring sessions between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi.
Currently scheduled to face Floyd Mayweather on August 26, McGregor engaged in some banter with Paulie before inviting him to spar. After just the first session there were already images appearing to show McGregor clowning Malignaggi in the ring.
Finally UFC president Dana White put out the following clip of Paulie appearing to suffer a heavy knockdown:
The Video Sparked Even More Debate
Was McGregor holding the back of Paulie’s head? It certainly could be argued. Either way, there was another video of some far more clean shots landing on Malignaggi. Paulie has claimed that McGregor got the better of the early rounds in sparring, but that he pulled away in the final sessions.
The 22 seconds of footage released by Dana White could be telling, or simply a small piece of a much bigger picture. Both men have responded to the video’s release in the time since.
Here’s what ‘The Notorious’ had to say:
McGregor Was Worried He May Have Given Paulie Brin Damage
“He was looking for an exit,” McGregor said during his media workout in Las Vegas (transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie). “The spars were not good for him. He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after it we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us when he was dropped back at the home that he was stumbling out of the car after the 12-rounder.
“He was flattened against the ropes; multiple times the ropes kept him on his feet. We were worried about him. We thought the worst was about to happen. He was certainly badly concussed. And then he just got out of there and went running.”
“He showed (up), he tried his best, it didn’t go his way,” McGregor said. “He got his ass whooped, he got his pride dented, and then he wanted a way out. What better way for a guy like him to exit under a load of questions. He was flattened. What can I say? He got his ass whooped. But I like the guy. He’s kind of like a lovable mouthpiece.”
“Let him speak (to Mayweather). I’m sure he has,” McGregor said. “You can’t prepare for me. … There’s nobody in the game that moves like me, and that strikes like me and has the confidence like me. So let them talk.”
The fact remains, Paulie and Floyd Mayweather are different kinds of animals. While the Irishman may have looked impressive against Malignaggi, Mayweather is going to be a whole new level of boxer for McGregor to face.
