Sean O'Malley casts doubt on Conor McGregor's assault case in conversation with a former UFC star: "A fighter would never, ever say that"
Conor McGregor was recently found liable for assaulting Nikita Hand in 2018 by the Irish High Court. The verdict of the civil case led to widespread condemnation from all corners of the globe. Some, though, remain suspicious, including former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, who scrutinized the incident.
His doubt stems specifically from Hand's claim that McGregor choked her and relayed that that is how he felt when Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted him in UFC 229. This is an account that O'Malley finds hard to believe, saying as much on Jake Shields' Fight Back Podcast.
"It's so hard to say and if it happened I would feel like an *sshole saying my opinion. So I don't even want to. It's a sh*tty situation. The thing I thought was... I'm not gonna say that word, but the thing that was interesting was when she said he said, 'This is how I felt when Khabib has choking me."
This drew an immediate response from Shields himself, who asserted that a fighter would have never uttered those alleged words, especially with regards to a hated rival.
"A fighter would never, ever say that. Zero chance a fighter's gonna talk about a loss in a cage, zero chance. Like, 'When Dan Henderson dropped me, this is how I felt.' That's exactly why I said it's bulls*it."
Check out Sean O'Malley and Jake Shields speculating on Conor McGregor's legal trouble (40:28):
Unfortunately for McGregor, the court ruling has affected his overall public image and has had severe consequences to his business ventures.
Other combat figures spoke up in Conor McGregor's defense
Controversial social media influencer and former kickboxer Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent public figures to criticize the verdict of Conor McGregor's civil case. He took to X in response to the ruling to express outrage over it.
"Bullsh*t ruling against Conor McGregor. Women sleep with rich men and if that man doesn't fund their life afterwards they lie and sue. Their brutal narcissism can't take the L of being undesired. We've set a dangerous precedent. It's literally impossible to be a man in the western world."