NSAC reacts to Conor McGregor’s “disappointing” complaints about Mayweather stoppage

Back in August, Conor McGregor stepped through the ropes to battle boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.

McGregor did better than most onlookers expected, but ultimately came up short, succumbing to 10th round punches dealt by his foe.

Initially, McGregor seemed to be in pretty good spirits about the whole affair. As time has passed, however, he’s grown increasingly ornery about the stoppage itself, suggesting referee Robert Byrd didn’t give him “a fair shake”, and stopped the fight early.

“I thought it was an early stoppage,” McGregor said during his recent Q&A in Glasgow. “How the f**k can you stop a fight if there were no knockdowns or nothing previous?” The round before that I almost had him dropped. I hurt him to the body in the round before. How the f**k can you stop it like that at the first sign of a wobble? You’ve got to let these fights go on.”

McGregor’s protests about Byrd’s stoppage have not gone over well with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who oversaw the fight. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, NSAC executive director Bob Bennett shared his disappointment with the way the Irish star has been talking.

“All I can say is we did our job,” he said. “That’s what we get paid to do and that’s what we did. I find it very disappointing that Conor would make derogatory remarks that the fight was stopped too early when really the timing of referee Robert Byrd’s stoppage was impeccable. We looked out for his health and safety. We did everything we could to ensure it was a level playing field.”

“I think the fight was very exciting,” he continued. “The fans loved it. The health and safety of the fighter was always at the forefront, from the beginning of the fight. There’s no doubt Conor did a phenomenal job, fighting a future Hall of Famer. Obviously, Floyd had his game plan that worked as well. The actual stoppage, we looked out for the health and safety of the fighter, which is our responsibility.”

What did you think of the stoppage in Conor McGregor’s fight with Floyd Mayweather?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/2/2017.