Conor McGregor breaks silence following scandal: “I was in the wrong”
It’s now been several days since the viral video, depicting a scene at a Dublin bar in which former UFC champion Conor McGregor assaulted a bar patron in Dublin. The action came off as unprovoked, seemingly due to the bar patron declining McGregor’s own brand of Whiskey, Proper 12. The man who was assaulted by McGregor recently spoke out about the altercation, giving his side of the story. Now McGregor has decided to comment on the incident in which he assaulted the man.
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In a lengthy interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, McGregor, who didn’t outright apologise, said the following:
“In reality, it doesn’t matter what happened there,” McGregor said. “I was in the wrong. That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it end the way it did. Although, five months ago it was, I tried to make amends. And I made amends back then. That doesn’t even matter, I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility,” McGregor said. Though the man he assaulted still calls him a ‘bully’.
I owe it to the people that have been supporting me. I owe it to my mother, my father, my family. I owe it to the people who trained me in martial arts. That’s not who I am. That’s not the reason why I got into martial arts or studying combat sports. The reason I got into it was to defend against that type of scenario.”
McGregor also acknowledged how poorly his recent behaviour reflects on him as a representative of MMA and martial arts.
“I have to realise, that’s not the attitude or behaviour of a leader or martial artist (or) of a champion,” McGregor said. “I must get my head screwed on and just get back in the cage – fight for redemption, retribution, respect. The things that made me the man I am. And that’s what I will do.”
This public statement is a good start, but his fans would surely most of all like to see him depart from public controversies and instead return to the UFC octagon. He recently witnessed Nate Diaz return to the UFC in spectacular form at UFC 241, and claims to feel motivated for a return himself.
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“Congrats on the win this weekend Nate, it was motivating to see it for my own comeback,” McGregor said in a post on Instagram.
The MMA community would without a doubt prefer to see him return to what made him a star in the first place: Fantastic performances inside the MMA cage.
