“When the guy came on with the mask on, I was like, alright, who’s this stupid guy in the middle of the ring?” McGeary said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “And when they pulled the mask off, it was like, uh, well, who is he? I didn’t know if I was supposed to know who he was or anything. They didn’t actually introduce him, you know?
“I didn’t actually realize there was any beef between Stephan Bonnar and Tito Ortiz. That was news to me. But, I mean, the guy insulted Tito’s family, his friends. He went personal with some of that s–t he was saying, so man, I think Tito had every right to go after him. Personally, I would’ve stuck my foot in his face.
“When you attack and insult people’s families and stuff, that’s a line you don’t really cross.”
The ensuing in-cage fracas between the trio of aging former UFC fighters was received by widespread skepticism as to it’s authenticity, as well as with a heaping helping of criticism for its similarities to the type of promotional work usually reserved for professional wrestling. Still, the altercation ultimately did get people talking, so at least in some strange respect, it could be considered a success.
“It’s different. It’s very different,” McGeary said of the stunt. “And you know what, it’s got everybody talking about it. Everybody’s said (something) about it and everybody’s mentioning it, so everybody’s watching it, so it’s got to be good for the sport, you know? It breaks up the usual MMA (monotony of) fight after fight after fight. If you get some little bit of entertainment in the middle, it’s not going to do the show any harm.”
While all parties involved in the brawl have since denied that the incident was pre-planned, McGeary doesn’t expect to employ similar tactics for his upcoming light heavyweight title challenger against Bellator champion Emanuel Newton.
“I mean, my fighting will speak for itself,” McGeary said with a laugh. “I’ve been pulling off moves, inverted triangles or knockouts, that’s all I’m interested in people seeing and watching. If people can talk about me because of my finishes, then that’s great in itself.”
“When the guy came on with the mask on, I was like, alright, who’s this stupid guy in the middle of the ring?” McGeary said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “And when they pulled the mask off, it was like, uh, well, who is he? I didn’t know if I was supposed to know who he was or anything. They didn’t actually introduce him, you know?
“I didn’t actually realize there was any beef between Stephan Bonnar and Tito Ortiz. That was news to me. But, I mean, the guy insulted Tito’s family, his friends. He went personal with some of that s–t he was saying, so man, I think Tito had every right to go after him. Personally, I would’ve stuck my foot in his face.
“When you attack and insult people’s families and stuff, that’s a line you don’t really cross.”
The ensuing in-cage fracas between the trio of aging former UFC fighters was received by widespread skepticism as to it’s authenticity, as well as with a heaping helping of criticism for its similarities to the type of promotional work usually reserved for professional wrestling. Still, the altercation ultimately did get people talking, so at least in some strange respect, it could be considered a success.
“It’s different. It’s very different,” McGeary said of the stunt. “And you know what, it’s got everybody talking about it. Everybody’s said (something) about it and everybody’s mentioning it, so everybody’s watching it, so it’s got to be good for the sport, you know? It breaks up the usual MMA (monotony of) fight after fight after fight. If you get some little bit of entertainment in the middle, it’s not going to do the show any harm.”
While all parties involved in the brawl have since denied that the incident was pre-planned, McGeary doesn’t expect to employ similar tactics for his upcoming light heavyweight title challenger against Bellator champion Emanuel Newton.
“I mean, my fighting will speak for itself,” McGeary said with a laugh. “I’ve been pulling off moves, inverted triangles or knockouts, that’s all I’m interested in people seeing and watching. If people can talk about me because of my finishes, then that’s great in itself.”
