Conor McGregor says stoppage was early, Floyd Mayweather responds

Last night, UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor bravely stepped into the boxing ring with undefeated boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. While McGregor had some real success early on, he ultimately fatigued in the second half of the fight, at which point Mayweather turned up the heat to capture a 10th-round win. It was not, however, a clean KO. McGregor, was never out cold.

In the moments after this massive fight, McGregor suggested that the stoppage might have been a bit early, and that he might have able to bounce back if he’d been given more time.

“I thought it was a little early on the stoppage,” McGregor said post-fight (h/t MMAJunkie.com). “I get a little wobbly when I’m tired. But get me in the corner and I’ll recover and I’ll come back. There’s a lot on the line here – he should have let me keep going until I hit the floor. I was just a little fatigued. He was a lot more composed, especially in the later parts of the fight.”

Unsurprisingly, Mayweather didn’t agree with these claims. He defended the stoppage post-fight.

“I hear him talk about, ‘Oh, he should have let me go out on my back or go out on my face,’” Mayweather said. “No. The referee saved you because the referee is thinking about your future. You’re still young and we want you to be able to fight again someday.”

What did you think of the stoppage in last night’s blockbuster Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor showdown?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/27/2017.