‘Like a dagger into my heart’: Conor McGregor on THAT viral video
Conor McGregor has finally spoken out about the infamous pub incident where he punched an elderly man in April, admitting that he was "in the wrong".
The video recently emerged which showed the 31-year-old fighter punch a 50-year-old man in the Marble Arch pub, with the man involved labelling the former UFC two-weight champ a "bully with money".
In his first interview since the public have seen the video, the Dubliner has owned up to his wrongs and vowed to "do better".
Footage has emerged of an incident on April 6th that allegedly shows @TheNotoriousMMA throwing a punch at an elderly man over a whiskey dispute…
Probably the only fight we will see him in this year…@TMZ pic.twitter.com/YeChPhHg50
— MMA Latest (@MMALatestNws) August 15, 2019
"In reality, it doesn't matter what happened there. I was in the wrong," McGregor said in an interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without it having to end the way it did.
"Although, five months ago it was, and I tried to make amends and I made amends back then – it still, that doesn't even matter," he continued.
"I was in the wrong. I must come here before you and take accountability and take responsibility. I owe it to the people that have been supporting me. I owe it to my mother, my father, my family. I owe it to the people who trained me in martial arts."
"That's not who I am, that's not the reason why I got into martial arts or studying combat sports. The reason why I got into it was to defend against that type of scenario.
"To see that, although (it was) months ago and I have been making steps and continuously making steps to do better and be better – to see it is like a dagger into my heart as a young martial artist," he said.
"I'm just here to own up to that and move on, carry on and face what's coming." The video of the incident went viral, with the victim saying that he's glad McGregor's reputation has been negatively impacted.
The 50-year-old revealed to The Irish Daily Star: "I am sitting on the bar stool just having a quiet pint with my friend then all of a sudden because I refuse his drink I get a punch, you don't need that in life."
The shocking video shows the Crumlin thug holding his own brand of Proper No. Twelve whiskey in Drimnagh, putting glasses down on the bar for everyone.
"I didn't even notice McGregor coming into the pub but seemingly he was throwing shots around.
"He approached me from the left-hand side. I was ready to go. He said, 'will you have one of my whiskeys?' I said 'no'. I don't like whiskey. I'm a Guinness man. I put the glass up on (the counter)."
"He said 'no you will have it with me.' I said 'I don't want it'. I think I put it back up again. He obviously got aggravated that I had disrespected, and that's when he gave me the punch.
"My taxi arrived that I was after ordering. The taxi man came in and said to come outside. I put my jacket on and went outside with the taxi man, popped in the front and the next thing McGregor and his friend, I don't who he was I had never seen the chap before, hopped into the back of it," he added.
"I thought he was cheeky. His friend was just talking to the taxi man. I didn't talk to McGregor."
The man said the punch left its mark for a week with McGregor reportedly set to be charged for the incident.
"Look it, I can take a punch," he said."It was sore for about a week. It wasn't killing me or anything. I just don't want to make sure he doesn't do that to anyone else again, just taking him down a peg.
He added: "I don't like the man. I think he is getting a bad rep. He is a bit of a bully. A bully with money."
A fellow pub punter described the incident in detail, saying that the victim didn't leave his house for days afterwards.
“At the end of the day he doesn’t want an apology or any money, he just wants justice for what happened to him. He wouldn’t have been a fan of McGregor before all this and he most certainly isn’t now."
Feature image: Instagram/@thenotoriousmma
