That wasn’t even the worst comment made about McGregor
Conor McGregor has been labelled an ‘easy payday’ who can no longer compete with the UFC’s top 10, according to Ali Abdelaziz, MMA manager and close confidant of McGregor’s long-time rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor tasted defeat for a second time against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, a horrific-looking broken ankle ending the bout in the first round.
Dustin Poirier was on top for much of the first round, taking advantage of gaps in McGregor’s guillotine to unleash his superior grappling skills.
It looked like Poirier’s ground and pound would soon spell the end for McGregor, until he took a step back on an already-injured left ankle.
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The Dubliner insisted the result be announced as a “doctor’s stoppage”, but many were quick to point out that this is still considered a TKO, regardless.
Despite his injury, McGregor wasted no time hurling insults at Poirier and his wife Jolie. “Your wife is in my DMs”, claimed McGregor when interviewed by Joe Rogan after the fight.
Poirier was visibly incensed and had to be restrained, while Jolie gave The Notorious the middle finger.
Dustin Poirier's wife Jolie flipped off Conor McGregor in the aftermath of the fight 👀 #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/WfgVXmkQzc
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 11, 2021
Conor’s comments have not gone down well with many in the MMA world.
UFC President Dana White said: “I don’t like that. Yeah, that’s not good. Leave people’s families and wives and all that stuff out of it. Family has nothing to do with it.”
In a fiery interview with MMA Junkie, Ali Abdelaziz laid into McGregor. Abdelaziz is an MMA manager, promoter and ally of Khabib Nurmagomedov, a long-term rival of McGregor’s.
“The guy acts like this (invincible) gangster, but he’s really not.
“Look at guys like Khabib (Nurmagomedov), Dustin Poirier (and) Daniel Cormier. They use their power for good. They help other people. All this guy does is hurt people.
“Listen, this guy has a family. By doing this, he’s hurting his own family. Who wants to be the son of this kid? Nobody wants to be the son of someone like him.”
However, that wasn’t the most incendiary comment made about McGregor by Abdelaziz. He was also referred to as a “prostitute” used by UFC fighters to build hype around their own careers.
“I don’t really care about him. He’s easy money,” said Abdelaziz.
“I hope he’s healthy. He can come back (and) fight (Justin) Gaethje, Islam (Makhachev), or Beneil (Dariush).
“He’s an easy payday for everybody. He has become, like I said, a prostitute. Guys use him right now for hype. That’s it. Because he’s easy money. He cannot beat anybody in the top 10 or the top 15. He cannot compete with these guys anymore. He cannot.”
We’d much prefer if Abdelaziz refrained from tossing out prostitute comparisons. He could well be stoking the embers with such language to get a fight for one of his guys. McGregor isn’t likely to be troubled by Abdelaziz’ comments – or anyone else’s, for that matter.
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He posted a picture to Instagram not long after his injury, stating: “You need people like me.”
The UFC (and the world of MMA in general) have indeed benefitted from someone with the profile of McGregor helping to generate interest in the sport. However, when wives and families are brought into question during trash talk, perhaps it’s time to take a step back.
