McGregor’s Sparring Partner Defends His UFC 303 Pull Out – ‘He’s Touching Billionaire Status’

Conor McGregor’s sparring partner, Brendan Loughnane, has defended the Irishman’s decision to withdraw from UFC 303. 

The Irishman was on course to fight Michael Chandler on June 29. There was mass anticipation for the event since McGregor had not fought since his 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. The live gate broke UFC records, going over $20 million. The tickets for the first presser also sold out in nine minutes. However, McGregor withdrew with a toe injury. There was a mixed response to this.

This was because Alex Pereira had suffered a broken toe two weeks before his fight with Jamahal Hill. However, the Brazilian still fought as he stopped Jamahal Hill in the first round at UFC 300. Nate Diaz and Alex Pereira refused to criticize McGregor. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev called McGregor a chicken. Poirier also questioned McGregor’s decision as talks over a fourth fight were mentioned. 

McGregor’s Injury

“A pinky toe, I fought with a lot of injuries over the years. A pinky toe doesn’t seem like a reason to pull out of a fight. He crossed lines you can’t come back from. I want to whip his..[butt] [when he tweets about me]. He’s trying to bring that out of me, he wants me to fire back. We have a lot of back-and-forth over the years, since 2014, no clue [if a fourth fight is possible],” Poirier said

Loughnane defended McGregor. The Irishman is a two-weight UFC champion. He is also at the latter end of his career. At 35, he is coming off a career-threatening leg injury. Former fighters such as Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva showed they were not the same after returning from similar injuries.
Given that money is not a pressing factor, McGregor can take his time. He has various ventures outside of the UFC, including his BKFC part-ownership.

Loughnane Reacts

He has also been linked with numerous boxing fights. McGregor’s boxing debut took place in 2017 when Floyd Mayweather stopped him. Despite losing, he earned a reported $100 million. A further fight with Manny Pacquiao has been mentioned. That would earn McGregor considerably more money than taking a UFC fight. But Loughnane outlined McGregor’s love for the sport. 

“This guy is hungry for it, he doesn’t have to do this now, he’s touching billionaire status. He’s doing this out of the love of the sport, guy loves it through and through, he’s a martial artist. He wakes up every day, this is what lights the fire inside people like him and me.

“And the fact that he got the injury and he pulled out shows me that he’s in a good place because it’s like going through these fights injured for what? He’s done it before, it’s well documented that he’s done it many times before. Do it when you’re healthy, there’s so much on the line now,” Loughnane stated

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