Conor McGregor Defended By Gina Carano Amid Fake Fight Accusations: “Real Outcomes Aren’t Always Fun”
Conor McGregor discourse is at a fever pitch in the wake of his inauspicious return to the cage over the weekend, and Gina Carano has shown some respect for ‘The Notorious’ returning after a half-decade away from the cage. McGregor lost to Max Holloway sixty-nine seconds into their rematch at UFC 329 and sustained an injury during their July 11th headlining bout.
The allegations of a fight being fixed seem more prevalent nowadays than ever, with Conor McGregor receiving some of that, and Carano also had some of these aspersions cast at her following her own return fight a couple of months back. Carano had a similarly short night of work, losing seconds into the opening frame of her fight with Ronda Rousey at the Netflix MVP MMA on May 16th. The Women’s MMA pioneer returned for a professional fight for the first time in almost twenty years with Carano’s prior bout taking place in August 2009 against Cris Cyborg.
Touching on the fallout from the numbered UFC event from Saturday night and responding to some doubters around the legitimacy of McGregor vs. Holloway 2, via her personal X account, Carano stated,
““It’s rigged!” “It’s fake!” “The fighter threw the fight for money or fame.” You know how much trouble you get in if anything is off or the fight is rigged in a professional fight, especially ones where huge money is involved? The FBI is all over this sport presently, if you’ve been paying attention. If someone’s going to rig a fight, 2026 would be the absolute dumbest time to do that. It’s just REAL. And real outcomes aren’t always fun. The stakes wouldn’t be so high and the sport so amazing if we all got the storybook ending we think we want.”
“That’s what makes this sport great: the highs, the lows, and the unknowns. Any fighter who gives it their all, steps into a fight turns their life around, to become the best version of themselves and to inspire others has my full respect. It’s one of the hardest sports in the world and the most vulnerable.”
Conor McGregor shows that “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying”, says Carano
Further delving into her feelings on the Conor McGregor situation post-UFC 329, Carano continued,
“And to reach career heights and then come back after a 5, 10, or 17 year layoff takes balls most people don’t even know exist, especially when it’s not something you have to do but something you choose to do.”
“You wonder, “God, why did it have to go that way after all the sacrifice and hard work?!” But ultimately His will be done. Then you live, you learn, and you move forward. The journey isn’t over, in a way it’s a whole new beginning. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying. Respect.”
