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Anthony Pettis and Khabib Nurmagomedov has opposing views on Conor McGregor’s latest controversy.
Conor McGregor’s controversies outside the cage has continued, as recently released footage from an incident showed the former champion allegedly striking an old man in a bar. Many in the MMA industry have reacted to the news, and more recently, UFC 241’s Anthony Pettis gave his take.
According to him, he wants to figure out what was said before passing judgement.
“I just want to know what the guy said, honestly,” Pettis told the assembled media. “Obviously don’t hit people in the face, but I’m a fighter and I know how drunk people treat us bro. It’s crazy. We’re so accessible to people. We’re not like NBA or NFL athletes with this huge entourage. UFC puts us out in front of everybody. You walk in in front of this lobby, we’re pretty popular, and pretty famous, and there’s a lot of drunk people.
“If someone does that to me, he’s getting smacked,” Pettis said about a drunk fan interaction his teammate Ben Askren recently had. “I don’t care. I’m a man and I’m a fighter. These guys think they can come talk to us in a certain manner. I’m not saying I support fighting someone outside the Octagon, but who knows what he said to get smacked?”
Aljamain Sterling responded to an Instagram post about this, agreeing with Pettis.
“I 100% agree!” the UFC bantamweight wrote. “I wouldn’t punch an old man though, but everything else Pettis said is SO SPOT ON! People act like we aren’t humans with emotions too, with a “very particular set of skills” to whoop some serious ass. Respect seems to have lost its way in childhood upbringings. Eventually, the world will teach you respect. An no, I’m not talking about that old man for that ppl that lack reading comprehension skills.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov though, had a much different take from Pettis.
“Bullshit,” Khabib commented. “Even if he say something, he old man.”
The UFC lightweight champion also expounded on those thoughts recently, saying that he’s “really really mad” at how a fighter like McGregor could disrespect and strike an old man regardless of how he acted.