In a page ripped from Chael Sonnen’s book of international trash talk, Conor McGregor today questioned Rafael dos Anjos’ connection (or lack thereof) with the people of Brazil after he moved out of his country and to the United States several years ago.
He even went as far as calling him a traitor who will be beheaded at UFC 197 on March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“RDA,” obviously, didn’t appreciate the boisterous comments, firing back during today’s (Jan. 20, 2016) press conference that trying to insult him for doing what millions of other people from various countries do is uncalled for.
And it doesn’t make any sense:
“For me, this doesn’t make any sense. I think the whole world has American dreams, and this country we have people from all different parts of the world. We have Irish, Brazilians who live here and these people do not deserve to be called traitors. This guy is calling me a traitor just because I live here. I have my kids here, my family. We have people people around the world who live in the U.S. and they don’t deserve to be called traitors.”
While McGregor didn’t exactly back down from his original comment, he did say that he is simply comparing the love people have for former 145-pound champion, Jose Aldo, as opposed to dos Anjos.
That said, he promised to drag dos Anjos’ head up and down the streets of Brazil in an attempt to honor the locals in what he described as a parade-like atmosphere.
“It’s all games, at the end of the day. Games are facts, depending who you ask. I am comparing you to a true Brazilian champion who I have already knocked out. Just seeing the pride that the Brazilian’s carried for Jose and the pride he carried for his people touched my heart. This is one of the reasons I wanted to give back to Brazil. March 5, I will behead Rafael and I will drag his heads through the streets of Rio de Janeiro to a parade of people I would imagine. It will become a national holiday I would imagine. It’s simply a sign of recognizing who is true and who is not. I see a true champion in Jose, and his team and his beliefs. He carries the Brazilian people. And I see a man (in Rafael) who is also Brazilian, but does not represent the Brazilian people like he should. He brings the name of Brazil down and I will bring it back up. Viva la Brasilia!”
dos Anjos was quick to point out to McGregor that Brazilians speak Portuguese — not Spanish — but the Irishman seemed unfazed, shifting gears to talk about his $1,250 “El Chapo”-inspired Versace shirt, among other worldly attributes.
Nonetheless, we’ll still have to wait a few months before “RDA” and “Notorious” get it on, so get up-to-speed with the full fight card here. And catch all of the action from today’s presser click here.