"That was straight-up grappling" - Jake Gyllenhaal reacts to losing arm-wrestling match against Conor McGregor despite advantageous setting
While Conor McGregor has not returned to the octagon in nearly three years after breaking his leg at UFC 264 in July 2021, the biggest star in mixed martial arts has remained busy. 'The Notorious' is set to make his theatrical debut later this week as 'Road House' is set to hit Prime Video on Thursday.
The former UFC double champ has been on a promotional tour for the movie alongside leading actor Jake Gyllenhaal. The duo recently sat down for an interview with BuzzFeed Celeb, where they were asked who would win in an arm wrestling match. After McGregor answered that he would probably win, his Oscar-nominated co-star chimed in, stating:
"If he uses his left arm and I get to use my right arm then yeah, I think I might be able to win."
McGregor responded:
"No, well, my left is stronger, but you know yourself in the fight game."
After being asked by the producer if they would like to test it out, the pair got on their stomachs and arm wrestled. Following McGregor's victory, Gyllenhaal claimed:
"That was straight up grappling. That was not an arm wrestle."
Check out Jake Gyllenhaal's comments on arm-wrestling Conor McGregor below (starting at the 8:50 mark):
Road House is a remake of the 1989 cult classic, which shares the same name. The movie has received mostly positive reviews from critics and will debut on Thursday.
Conor McGregor shares update on UFC return
Conor McGregor is nearing three years of inactivity from competing in mixed martial arts. While he has shared his interest in returning against Michael Chandler at International Fight Week in June, nothing has been made official. Speaking to Marc Raimondi of ESPN, 'The Notorious' revealed that he will compete this summer, stating:
"We got confirmation a few days ago that it's all systems go and 'The Mac', 'The Notorious' will be returning in the UFC octagon this summer... It's Chandler. I've got to f**king shut up Michael, the f**king imbecile, the blade doesn't shut up... I like Michael. I'm going to bust him up... I was having a bit of a laugh with the 185 [pounds]. I haven't checked the scales since the last time I weighed in at a UFC event, which was a fair bit of time ago."
Check out Conor McGregor's comments on his UFC return below:
McGregor reiterated that it is all systems go, claiming that he received a call and everything was good between him and the promotion. He previously shared that he would like to face Chandler at UFC 303 in June before facing Nate Diaz in a trilogy bout at UFC 306 in September. The latter card, which will take place for Mexican Independence Day, will mark the UFC's first event at the Las Vegas Sphere.