Conor McGregor approves KSI's win over Joe Fournier despite widespread claims of an illegal elbow
Conor McGregor has defended KSI for his controversial knockout at MF & DAZN X Series 7: KSI vs. Joe Fournier.
On May 13, KSI continued his influencer boxing career with a main event bout against Joe Fournier, who was previously 9-0. The YouTuber-turned-boxer looked impressive through four minutes when he knocked out Fournier in the second round.
After further review, the footage showed that KSI landed an illegal elbow to secure the knockout win. As a result, the 29-year-old received massive backlash, with Fournier and fans hoping the fight would be changed to a disqualification or no contest. One fan asked McGregor for his opinion by saying:
“Did you see the KSI finish via elbow strike? If so, what do you think of it? Fight was ruled a win, even though it was in boxing.”
‘The Notorious’ responded by saying:
“I seen it, I liked it. He goin’, fair play, KSI.”
KSI holds a professional boxing record of 1-0, but he has five wins in exhibitions. Shortly after defeating Fournier, the YouTuber faced off with Tommy Fury, who recently defeated Jake Paul. They are expected to fight later this year.
Conor McGregor wants the UFC knockout record before retiring
At UFC Charlotte, Matt Brown tied Derrick Lewis for the most UFC KO/TKOs (13) after knocking out Court McGee. Meanwhile, Conor McGregor, who is expected to make his octagon return later this year, has eight knockouts in the UFC and plans to secure the record before retiring. ‘The Notorious’ had this to say on Twitter:
“Matt Brown, at 42 years of age, now holds the joint highest KO’s inside the UFC with 13 KO’s. Him and “The Beast” Lewis are tied. I hold 8 KO’s inside the UFC currently, at 34 years of age. I’m getting this record.”
Conor McGregor recently coached the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter against Michael Chandler. Once he’s approved by USADA, ‘The Notorious’ will likely fight Chandler in a highly-anticipated matchup. With that said, the former two-division UFC champion reportedly hasn’t re-entered the USADA testing pool, raising concerns about his return.
McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021, losing against Dustin Poirier for the second consecutive time. He suffered a severe leg injury and endured a lengthy recovery process before his coaching stint at TUF.