There was a very public falling out between Conor McGregor and now his former sparring partner in Paulie Malignaggi. It stems from leaking photos and a disputed knockdown from just their second session together.
Malignaggi claims he was “pushed” down, while McGregor and his team claim it was a legitimate knockdown. While footage has been released to paint a much clearer picture, it does show parts of both of their stories. That said, both men are still sticking to their claims.
For his part, McGregor states that he badly hurt Malignaggi during that final sparring session. He doesn’t really say Paulie was lying, but he thinks his claims that are somewhat different from reality were likely just due to head trauma and not thinking or remembering things clearly.
“When I heard the stuff he was saying, I was like, ‘That’s concussion talk,’” McGregor said after his media workout. “The man was badly, badly concussed. Look at his face. He was busted up bad.”
Malignaggi also brought up other reasons for the departure, citing the treatment of sparring partners and housing, which McGregor denies.
“He was looking for an exit. The spars were not good for him,” McGregor said. “He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after it, we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us that when he was dropped back to the home he was stumbling out of the car after the 12-rounder.
“We thought the worst was happening. He was certainly badly concussed. And then he just got out of there and started running.”
McGregor also discussed the matter on the clip below.
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