The scale of anger that Conor McGregor has generated among his own peers became apparent after UFC 196, with light heavyweight star Jon Jones one of several to mock him on social media in the wake of his shock loss.
McGregor was beaten by Nate Diaz on Saturday night in a welterweight clash, as he submitted in the second round. And given the bullishness with which the Irishman approached the fight, it’s little surprise there’s been a significant reaction from the MMA world.
As reported by the42, earlier this week McGregor had claimed he’d consider himself to fill the top-nine spots in a list of the planet's best and “maybe Jon [Jones] and Mighty Mouse [Demetrious Johnson] is 10.” Both Jones and Demetrious Johnson, ranked first and second in the UFC’s pound-for-pound standings, reminded the featherweight champion of his comments:
A photo posted by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on
McGregor ventured into the welterweight division for the first time against Diaz, and while he was in control in the first round, complacency crept in.
When his opponent landed, the Irishman clearly felt the punches, allowing Diaz to take his back and apply the submission. Here’s a reminder of the sensational finish to the main event:
Naturally, McGregor—who earned the name “Mystic Mac” in some quarters after predicting how his fights would go—was extremely confident of securing a win ahead of the bout and, as the old adage goes, pride often comes before a fall.
It was a fall many others in the UFC seemed pleased to see, especially in the 170-pound division. Welterweight fighter Mike Pierce praised Diaz on his Twitter feed, suggesting plenty will have been delighted to see this outcome:
On behalf of all fighters thank you @NateDiaz209 #UFC196
— Mike Pierce (@MikePierce170) March 6, 2016
Another welterweight, Matt Brown, also posted gleefully after the bout had finished, suggesting McGregor’s loss may prompt him into cashing in on some of his well documented assets:
On a side note two Bentleys will be up for sale tonight in Vegas
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) March 6, 2016
It’s no surprise the fighters from this weight class are happy to see McGregor downed, as he didn’t have especially kind words for them prior to the fight.
“I got middleweights coming in fresh trying to wear me down. So, why not go up?,” he said of fighting at welterweight before UFC 196, per SevereMMA.com (h/t Ryan McKinnell of Yahoo) “They get slower and they get less free. They get stiffer. Even more stuck than the lightweight division.”
Still, even lower down the divisions fighters were happy to see the Notorious had lost, including the man he was originally scheduled to face at UFC 196, lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos:
Soft!!!!
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 6, 2016
This is not feather weight
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 6, 2016
Additionally, featherweight icon Jose Aldo, who McGregor knocked out in 13 seconds at UFC 194, had some harsh words for the Irishman, who he challenged to a rematch at UFC 200, *warning, expletive language used*:
See ya at #UFC200, @TheNotoriousMMA. Your fairy tale is over. You got nowhere to run now. Time to a rematch, pussy. pic.twitter.com/67fmic8qxG
— Jose Aldo Junior (@josealdojunior) March 6, 2016
McGregor himself admitted after the bout that it’s no surprise to see fighters revelling in his defeat, although he doesn’t quite understand the thinking behind it, per BT Sport UFC:
.@TheNotoriousMMA is eager to remind the featherweight division he is still the champion. #UFC196 https://t.co/b6XVwY35Iu
— #UFC196 (@btsportufc) March 6, 2016
Even the greats of the UFC have lost, including Johnson, Dos Anjos and Aldo. It’s an unforgiving discipline that makes the pursuit of perfection extremely difficult to accomplish, and while there’s little harm in poking fun at McGregor for the time being, to write the man off completely would be naive.
