Conor McGregor is seeking an apology from Stephen A. Smith after the outspoken ESPN analyst slammed his victory over Donald Cerrone.
Smith has become embroiled in a war of words with podcast host and UFC commentator Joe Rogan after revealing how he was underwhelmed by the UFC 246 main event.
Now 'The Notorious' has weighed in to the debate on social media, seemingly agreeing that he did not show enough on the night, but demanding respect for Cerrone.
He tweeted: "@stephenasmith @SandhuMMA @joerogan The call you discuss here is A+. I didn’t show enough.
"I’m not paid by the hour though.
"Joe’s comments however, come from you saying the opposition fighter quit.
"Broken nose/orbital bone say different. Fighting is vicious. Those who make the walk deserve full respect! Apologise."
Smith had revealed to ESPN that he was furious with Cerrone's performance, saying: "I’m quite disgusted. Let me be very, very clear: I’m honoured to be up here with you guys.
"I’m a spectator watching the sport. I expected to see more than 40 seconds.
"I predicted McGregor was going to win this fight inside of two rounds. I thought he would take him out.
“Here’s the deal: 15 seconds in, ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone was done. He got hit with those shoulders in the clinch, and he was done.
"It looked like he gave up. It was just an atrocious performance on his part.”
Rogan had hit back strongly, saying: “There’s a lot of currency in being Stephen A. Smith.
“He’s really entertaining. That s**t-talking that he does, he’s a guy that’s fun to watch.
"He talks a lot of s**t and he gets real loud and everyone disagrees with him. Look, it’s made him a fantastic career. He carries that over to MMA – I think it’s a bad idea."
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