Irish star Conor McGregor opened up about his loss on social media for the first time post UFC 229 on Monday night. The Notorious took to Instagram detailing out the different aspects of the bout and highlighting his shortcomings.
McGregor was courteous enough to acknowledge his opponent’s moves that helped him dominate inside the octagon. According to the Irish star Khabib had won the first round early on. McGregor jotted about his “critical error” in the fourth round that handed over the reins of the fight to his rival. The Dagestan native was able to defend his lightweight title by submitting defeat to McGregor via neck crank. According to the Irish superstar,
“Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square.”
After a careful analysis of his lost fight, Irish star Conor McGregor gave his fans some hope. The Irishman wrote that he was fine about not being able to square off Khabib in a rematch right now.
“If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all.”
30-year-old Dublin native noted that Nurmagomedov executed a game-changing punch that steered him towards success. He wrote that though Khabib controlled the first round, he himself actually did well in fighting aptly. According to McGregor, Khabib was only able to retain his control rather than being on defensive during the opening round.
The second round came with surprises. Khabib unleashed his fighting power, something Conor was not focused about. Conor admits underestimating his rival’s skills. According to the Notorious,
“I gave his upright fighting no respect.”
He went to add,
“If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now. I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won’t happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To [sic] defense minded. Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice.”
While describing his comeback fight after an absence of two years, Irish star Conor McGregor penned it as “great fight.”
The Notorious ended the post on a positive note,
“What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared.”
What do you think of Conor McGregor’s analysis about the fight? Comment below.