Anthony Pettis suspects ‘something was said’ before Conor McGregor threw punch

Anthony Pettis — like most members of the MMA community — saw the video of Conor McGregor punching an older man inside a bar in Ireland. Speaking to MMA Junkie at UFC 241 media day ahead of his fight with Nate Diaz, Pettis shared his thoughts on this incident.

He says he’s not rushing to judgement as the video doesn’t reveal what the man said to McGregor before the punch was thrown.

“It was crazy, but who knows what that dude said?” Pettis said. “I’m sure something was said for him to do that. He’s not going to punch somebody in the face for no reason.”

See the video in question below and decide for yourself:

Anthony Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion, will enter his UFC 241 fight with Nate Diaz having recently debuted in the welterweight division with a shocking knockout victory over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

Pettis claims that, after his victory over Wonderboy, he was offered a fight with Conor McGregor, targeted for UFC 244 in New York City. Unfortunately, the bout never materialized.

“First it was McGregor, and I was like let’s do it in Madison Square Garden,” he said. “Something fell off with that and then it popped up Nate and I was just like we’ll see what happens.”

“Then he [Diaz] signed the contract and we’re here,” he added.

Speaking to MMA Junkie at UFC 241 media day, Anthony Pettis admitted that he’s still interested in a fight with Conor McGregor, but that he won’t be chasing a matchup with the Irishman.

“That’s another fan favorite fight,” Pettis said. “I’m not going to sit here and wait for Conor McGregor and call him out or anything. If he wants to fight and he wants to fight me, send the contract and I’ll be there.”

What do you think of these comments from Anthony Pettis?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/15/2019.