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MMA

16th Apr 2019

Conor McGregor congratulates ice hockey player on brutal knockout

"They can run, but they can’t hide."

Darragh Murphy

Fights in ice hockey are commonplace but more often than not, they end with referees breaking up a messy flailing of fists.

You hardly ever see an ice hockey fight finish in as brutal a fashion as the one between Alex Ovechkin and Andrei Svechnikov this week.

The Washington Capitals might have suffered a devastating 5-0 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night but the game will be remembered more for the brutal barrage of blows between Ovechkin and Svechnikov in the first period.

Caps star Ovechkin knocked Svechnikov out cold with a right hand which sent the Carolina rookie backwards and after hitting the back of his head on the ice, Svechnikov required medical assistance.

“First of all I hope he’s OK,” Ovechkin said. “You’re right: I’m not a big fighter … He asked me to fight, I said, ‘Let’s go, yeah.’ So, I hope he’s OK. You don’t want to see a guy get hurt or something.”

After the UFC’s official Twitter account tweeted about the brawl using a famous Conor McGregor quote, ‘The Notorious’ responded by congratulating Ovechkin on the punch.

“Congrats Alex Ovechkin. A Proper Russian,” McGregor tweeted.

“Great to meet you in Moscow big man, see you again soon! They can run, but they can’t hide.”