Conor McGregor said on Wednesday that he believes “personal issues” contributed to Ronda Rousey’s shock defeat to Holly Holm in Melbourne last month.
The Dublin-born mixed martial artist, widely regarded as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s most visible star besides Rousey, said he viewed the historic upset loss as a cautionary tale ahead of his own high-profile showdown against Brazil’s José Aldo on 12 December in Las Vegas.
“I know there was problems,” he said during a media conference call on Wednesday. “I don’t know her situation. From looking from where I was at, I could see that maybe she’s doing a little too much on the media side. That coupled with personal life that I don’t know about, maybe could’ve hampered her training a little bit. Maybe could have hampered her mind. And then the particular style of opponent in Holly. It all kind of combined into making her a little bit too emotionally invested.”
Aldo, the UFC’s featherweight champion since 2010, was forced to pull out of a scheduled July fight with McGregor due to a rib injury. Instead, McGregor met fellow top contender Chad Mendes, winning by second-round TKO for the organization’s interim featherweight title.
Now they will finally face off in a title unification fight that’s become even more hotly anticipated due to the delay, making McGregor’s media obligations, including Wednesday’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, more cumbersome than ever.
The 27-year-old believes that the external noise surrounding the build-up to Rousey’s fight – including the bickering between her mother and coach and her relationship with a fellow UFC fighter previously accused of domestic violence – ultimately overwhelmed the former women’s bantamweight champion.
“The first thing I watch is the technical aspect of the contest,” McGregor said. “I watch Holly put on a good performance. She struck, she evaded. I watched Ronda fight a little bit emotionally invested. I’m sure she had many, many things going on. She’s one of the hardest working fighters in the game, media wise and work wise. She had a lot on her plate and it showed in the contest.”
Rousey will have an opportunity to avenge her catastrophic loss in an immediate rematch with Holm, UFC president Dana White confirmed on Thursday in an appearance on ESPN’s popular Mike & Mike sports talk radio show.
McGregor said on Wednesday that the lessons he gleaned from Rousey’s downfall will only redouble his focus ahead of his UFC 194 showdown with Aldo.
“It’s important just to still the mind,” he said. “Calm it. Make everything smaller than it is. That’s maybe what I would take from it.”
