"You can break a rule without cheating" - Chael Sonnen gives his take on if Conor McGregor is a cheater
As Conor McGregor's expected return to the UFC in late 2022 approaches, discussion on how he'll fare in the current combat sports landscape abounds. One topic that's recently flared up revolves around McGregor allegedly cheating in past fights.
There's video footage of McGregor grabbing his opponents' gloves and shorts, or sticking his toes in the cage. Are those incidents egregious enough to describe "The Notorious" as a cheater?
Chael Sonnen tackled the question in his latest YouTube video and disagrees. He said:
"You can break a rule without cheating, for sure. Think of basketball, something less important than combat sports in terms of damage. But think about travelling. Travelling is against the rules. You break the rule, you'll even be punished for it. There will be a foul, it will be recognized. Are you a cheater? It's one of those hard things. You can make a mistake, you can do an accident. I only share that with you, I don't know what's in Conor's mind. In all fairness, when you're talking about all those clips, I've seen those clips, I've seen him hold the glove, I've seen the toes in the cage. It comes down to intent."
@ShotOfScotch @TheNotoriousMMA Real man cheat. https://t.co/1cdRFpZi2V
"Breaking the rule and intending to break the rule ahead of time and get away with it is largely - I haven't looked up the definition - what we all as people associate with cheating. As opposed to a foul. What's in Conor's mind? Look, there's a lot of rules out there but there are only three big ones. You don't hit 'em low, you don't bite 'em, you don't poke 'em in the eyes. That is basically as long as you follow that, no fighter is going to think that you're dirty."
He concluded:
"I've never heard, aside from the very clip you're talking about, I've never heard a reputation or something surrounding Conor where if you're gonna fight this guy 'you gotta be careful, he's a real cheater.'"
Watch the full video from Chael Sonnen discussing Conor McGregor cheating below:
Conor McGregor admits he grabbed Dustin Poirier's glove during their fight
One accusation levied against Conor McGregor is that he illegally grabbed Dustin Poirier's gloves on the ground during their third fight. It's not really an accusation any more, because months later McGregor admitted he did it on Twitter. He told a critic:
"That’s right, I’m truly nasty in there. He hooked the fence. I grabbed the glove. A fight is a fight. Only b****es complain."
@_maakaveli That’s right, I’m truly nasty in there. He hooked the fence. I grabbed the glove. A fight is a fight. Only bitches complain.
Perhaps Conor McGregor subscribes to the famous words of Tito Ortiz: "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying."