WE ALREADY KNOW Tony McGregor is something of cult hero, not least because of his unwavering belief that his son is the best featherweight MMA fighter in the world.
But even the elder McGregor admits that the family was stunned to see Conor struggle in the first two rounds of his recent UFC 189 bout with Chad Mendes.
Tony McGregor told Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour‘:
“It was an awesome fight to see and witness him lifting that gold belt, but before that, it was a terrible shock to the family and it was a big shock to the Irish fans as well. We had never seen Conor being taken to the ground like that before.
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“I went into shock when I saw him getting tossed around by Chad. We didn’t expect that at all. I was speaking to the fans after and they told me they’d cried during that.
“Nobody was expecting it whatsoever.”
And as they watched, the fear of the unthinkable began to spread.
“My wife panicked and she ran into the back, his two sisters were huddled together hysterical and I think Dee [McGregor's girlfriend] was rooted to the spot crying as well.
“And this was all in the first round.”
Tony says his son’s investment in the promotion of the fight, as well as the bout itself, took a lot out of the new interim featherweight champion.
“He was so drained of emotions and so drained physically after this fight, so just as a family we put our arms around him and said congratulations, this is an amazing achievement. We were all just shaking with joy.”
Tony McGregor says seeing Conor hurt against Mendes was 'a terrible shock'
WE ALREADY KNOW Tony McGregor is something of cult hero, not least because of his unwavering belief that his son is the best featherweight MMA fighter in the world.
But even the elder McGregor admits that the family was stunned to see Conor struggle in the first two rounds of his recent UFC 189 bout with Chad Mendes.
Tony McGregor told Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour‘:
“I went into shock when I saw him getting tossed around by Chad. We didn’t expect that at all. I was speaking to the fans after and they told me they’d cried during that.
“Nobody was expecting it whatsoever.”
And as they watched, the fear of the unthinkable began to spread.
“My wife panicked and she ran into the back, his two sisters were huddled together hysterical and I think Dee [McGregor's girlfriend] was rooted to the spot crying as well.
“And this was all in the first round.”
Tony says his son’s investment in the promotion of the fight, as well as the bout itself, took a lot out of the new interim featherweight champion.
“He was so drained of emotions and so drained physically after this fight, so just as a family we put our arms around him and said congratulations, this is an amazing achievement. We were all just shaking with joy.”
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