Conor McGregor has been alleged to have cheated in the biggest fights of his career.
About four years ago, Conor McGregor took on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in what was billed as ‘the biggest fight in the history of mixed martial arts’. While the bout was a lopsided contest for Nurmagomedov who dominated ‘The Notorious One’ before getting a submission win in the fourth round.
In a new video analysis of the contest, McGregor was alleged to have gone against the rules in multiple ways. Being on the ground for the majority of the bout, the Irish superstar was accused of cheating by holding the Russian’s shorts and putting his toes on the fence in an attempt to stop the Dagestani from applying more pressure on the top.
He also landed a strike on the back of Nurmagomedov’s head and grabbed his glove as well.
A year before that fight, McGregor competed against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. Both parties were happy with the truckload of cash they made from the event but Mayweather had also accused McGregor of throwing rabbit punches.
Dustin Poirier also complained about Conor holding his gloves throughout their fight.
Chael Sonnen weighs in on Conor McGregor cheating
In a recent episode uploaded to his official YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen was asked by a fan about McGregor’s cheating. As an experienced veteran of the game, ‘The Bad Guy’ shared his thoughts on the video.
“You can break a rule without cheating, for sure,” Sonnen said.
“Think of basketball, something less important than combat sports in terms of damage, but think about travelling. Travelling is against the rules. You break the rule, you’ll even be punished for it. There will be a foul, it will be recognised. Are you a cheater?”
According to Sonnen, it all comes down to the intent of the action as it could’ve been a genuine mistake.
“It’s one of those hard things. You can make a mistake, you can do an accident. I only share that with you, I don’t know what’s in Conor’s mind. In all fairness, when you’re talking about all those clips, I’ve seen those clips, I’ve seen him hold the glove, I’ve seen the toes in the cage. It comes down to intent.”
Fair take from Sonnen who has been in similar situations himself and shines some light on the three golden rules of fighting.
“Breaking the rule and intending to break the rule ahead of time and get away with it is largely what we all as people associate with cheating, as opposed to a foul. What’s in Conor’s mind? Look, there’s a lot of rules out there but there are only three big ones.
“You don’t hit ’em low, you don’t bite ’em, you don’t poke ’em in the eyes. That is basically as long as you follow that, no fighter is going to think that you’re dirty.” (h/t GiveMeSport)