Quote: UFC Needs To ‘Humble’ Conor McGregor After Bellator Incident
It’s been well documented by now that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor made a scene while in attendance for Bellator 187.
At the event, he made a surprise return to the cage after his friend Charlie Ward’s victory over John Redmond by jumping the fence to celebrate.
This is when things went sideways as McGregor was told to leave the cage by referee Marc Goddard which led to an altercation between the referee and McGregor. This led to McGregor shoving the referee.
After the incident, the UFC champion issued an apology for his actions and what it turned into. There have been several fighters who have spoken about the incident and what the UFC needs to do to McGregor as a punishment.
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that the promotion needs to “humble” McGregor for attacking a referee.
The title contender recently appeared on the Talk and Talker podcast (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting) to talk about the incident. He believes that once McGregor began going after Goddard, he crossed the line.
“My very good friend fought for a big organization in Europe at 57 kgs, 125 [pounds]. When he win, I do same s**t. I come inside and I hold him because I’m very happy. I’m jumping on the cage, I come inside. A lot of people come inside, my friends, my teammates, because we’re very happy but when referee tells me, ‘Hey, you guys have to go out,’ I don’t try to fight with him because I know referee is not professional fighter, he’s referee. I have to respect rules. But I go crazy a little bit after I understand, ‘Hey, this is not good. I have to stop this,’ and I try to tell my friends, my teammates that we have to go out.
“Sometimes this happens and this organization disqualification 30 percent of his money, but it’s okay. It’s okay. This organization has rules and when we come to the organization we have to follow this. We have to follow rules. So sometimes this happens but I don’t understand why he tried to fight with referee. I don’t understand it.
“One time, if you try with him it’s okay but you see these guys don’t want fight with you and he cannot fight with you. Why would you try more and more? I don’t understand this one. When you come to inside the cage because you’re very happy about your friend’s win, it’s okay but try to fight with referee, this is not good.”
Keep in mind that the UFC champion does have some history with Goddard. If you recall, he was the official who ordered McGregor to leave cageside because of his antics during Artem Lobov’s fight with Andre Filli at UFC Gdansk.
Also, this isn’t the first time that McGregor has jumped the fence into the cage during an event as he did it during Lobov’s win on The Ultimate Fighter by jumping into the cage and ripping his pants.
“Yes, it’s okay, but not all the time. He does this all the time. In Ultimate Fighter show, in Bellator show, I don’t understand why he can do but other guys cannot do. Because he’s Conor McGregor? He cannot do this. The UFC has to make him humble a little bit because other guys say, ‘Oh, Conor do this? He can do this but why I not?’ This is why sometimes you have to follow rules when you’re a big name, because a lot of people are watching you.
“When you jump inside the ring, okay, but when you try to fight with referee, this is not good. Why he don’t slap me when we go very close like UFC 205? Because he understands I don’t stop. Maybe he slaps him because he understands he’s not fighter, he cannot give him back.
“I never slap somebody if this guy cannot fight with me. . . You cannot fight with me. I can kill you. I can punch you and I can take you down and smash your face. You have to stay relaxed. Sometimes you have to say this because you’re a professional athlete and you can kill people.”
