Kamaru Usman is confused about the backlash towards Conor McGregor after UFC 329.
Many were frustrated after McGregor’s return lasted just 69 seconds when he injured his right knee against Max Holloway this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) blew out his knee from the first kick he threw, but there’s some speculation that he entered the fight compromised – something McGregor vehemently denies.
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Former UFC welterweight champion Usman can’t help but feel bad for McGregor, who competed for the first time since breaking his left leg in July 2021.
“I saw a lot of the backlash online and kind of how people were going at him,” Usman said of McGregor on UFC on Paramount+. “It’s a tough thing to do, and I remember watching it at home and going, ‘This could either go really well or really, really bad.’ There was no in-between, and I could just kind of feel his spirit, Conor’s spirit, as he was warming up backstage, and then he comes out and that happens and it was about the worst that could have happened. So I definitely felt for him because it’s a dark place to be. No one, unless you’re a fighter of that caliber, of that magnitude, that has been in a situation like that, it’s very, very difficult to truly understand what he’s going through and what he’s about to go through in these dark days.
“I don’t think that was what he wanted. I think he wanted to come out and actually try to put on a show because at the end of the day, what does a guy like Conor have anymore? It’s the glory of being able to be a combatant, being able to go out there and be a warrior once again and be recognized as that. And unfortunately, he didn’t get that. So that’s why it’s going to be dark until eventually he’s able to build his mind and his body back up to potentially step back in there. So I feel for him big time, and yeah, I didn’t really get all the hate that was going into it. But both guys putting in time, and yeah, they got compensated for it.”
McGregor is adamant on fighting again and completing the final bout on his UFC contract. While he didn’t reveal the exact injury, he said he will require surgery to repair his knee.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman feels for McGregor after UFC 329 injury: ‘It’s going to be dark’
