When KSI hinted at family being the reason Conor McGregor was KO'd by Dustin Poirier
Conor McGregor has made a career out of stunning the MMA community and leaving his fans' jaw-dropped.
Few will ever forget the deafening scenes after his 13-second knockout over José Aldo or the mixed martial arts masterclass when he dismantled and TKO'd Eddie Alvarez over the course of two rounds.
Unfortunately for the Irishman, he has also been on the receiving end of shocking moments, and few are more shocking than his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. He'd previously knocked out 'The Diamond' with little effort when they first crossed swords at UFC 178 back in 2014.
So how and why did he lose in their rematch? KSI has an idea.
The YouTuber recently caught Conor McGregor's attention, causing the Irishman to challenge him to a bare-knuckle boxing match. That wasn't their first interaction together, as the two have history.
Two years ago, KSI spoke about the factors that may have led to Conor McGregor's loss to Dustin Poirier:
"He didn't seem like normal McGregor. He seemed too modest and like cheery. It seemed like he lost the fire in his eyes. I don't know. Maybe it's because he's a dad now, maybe he's just there like, 'I've made my money, I've, you know, I've got a kid. I've got a wife. I'm just happy.' Like, I don't know."
See the full podcast appearance below:
Unfortunately for McGregor, he would also go on to lose the trilogy bout against Poirier after a catastrophic leg break led to a TKO via doctor stoppage.
KSI's take isn't the first time someone opined that family could negatively affect a fighter's mentality and intensity. UFC color commentator Jon Anik spoke similarly about Beneil Dariush when attempting to explain his loss to Charles Oliveira.
When Conor McGregor and KSI played video games together
Before Conor McGregor was challenging KSI to bare-knuckle boxing bouts or dismissing him as a 'friendly little nerd' when the YouTuber was scheduled to face Dillon Danis, the pair were on better terms.
In fact, back in 2016, they even collaborated on a video together.
McGregor, who was on the cover of EA Sports UFC 2, collaborated with KSI in a YouTube video, during which the two played the video game together. The video was uploaded two days before the Irishman dethroned Eddie Alvarez as lightweight champion.