While Conor McGregor may have moved on from his UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz, the rest of the world has not. The latest example of that came from former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones, who spoke out on the loss and, for the most part, came down hard on McGregor and his fans.
“A part of me thinks it’s a good thing he was humbled,” Jones said in an interview, per BloodyElbow.com’s Anton Tabuena. “Right before he lost, he was getting into conversations about fighting anybody, anywhere, saying things like I could beat anybody, any weight class they’re in.”
Indeed, McGregor did have a substantial following of fans who, perhaps, overestimated his abilities. While he is a talented fighter who earned the UFC title in impressive fashion by defeating a GOAT-level champion in Jose Aldo, and provoked real discussion about whether or not he could capture three UFC titles within 12 months’ time, fans took things a step further with some even questioning if he could defeat any fighter in the world, all the way up to heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.
Worth noting is that this isn’t Jones’ first time discussing McGregor‘s loss. He took to Instagram shortly after UFC 196 and, alongside UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, joked about McGregor‘s claims that he is the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. That post, unsurprisingly, has since been deleted.
In fairness, though, he did have some positive things to say about McGregor and said he’s a fan of the Irish striker. “I’m positive this is actually going to bring out the best in him,” he said. “After defeat, you really start closing holes in your game, you start questioning your training to become better.”
He continued on, “Guys like Conor McGregor, they symbolize our sport’s future. Conor McGregor is getting fans from all over the world, who tune in and actually don’t watch the UFC, they just watch Conor fight. … So yeah, I’m a fan of his, but I just have mixed feelings about his loss.”
Jones, the lineal UFC light heavyweight champion, is set to face Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 on April 23 to reclaim the belt he never actually lost. McGregor, meanwhile, will likely return to the featherweight division, where he will likely rematch Aldo or face former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar.
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