At yesterday’s open workout session in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor spoke to the media for the first time about his now “Notorious” second sparring session with Paulie Malignaggi, and he didn’t pull any punches.
“He was looking for an exit,” McGregor said of Malignaggi’s decision to quit his camp after the Irishman’s camp released a photo of their sparring session. “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.”
McGregor doesn’t appear to hold any ill-will toward Malignaggi for his outspoken comments after leaving his camp, but he again hammers home the point that he gave him a torrid time in the ring.
“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.”
McGregor’s claims have at least partially been backed up by two video clips released by Dana White yesterday, which show the UFC lightweight titleholder landing at will and flooring the former two-weight boxing champion, though Malignaggi is still calling for the full 12 rounds of footage to be released and claims the knockdown was a push.
It’s also worth noting that on last night’s third episode of Showtime All Access: Mayweather Vs McGregor, ‘The Notorious’ also claimed that he won the sparring session with Malignaggi 12 rounds to 0.
