McGregor's antics ahead of Poirier defeat criticised by Firas Zahabi

Conor McGregor’s antics ahead of trilogy defeat by Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 savaged as ‘humiliating’ and ‘horrible’ by ‘grossed out’ head coach Firas Zahabi… who also questions ‘how you guys can be fans of this man’

• Firas Zahabi has taken a swipe at Conor McGregor by questioning his behaviour 
• McGregor and Dustin Poirier fought in a war of words ahead of their trilogy bout 
• ‘Notorious’ had even name-dropped Poirier’s wife in an attempt to rattle his rival
• Now, after McGregor’s defeat, Zahabi has criticised his antics for being ‘horrible’ 

The behaviour of Conor McGregor before and after his chastening defeat by Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 has been heavily criticised by head coach Firas Zahabi.

Zahabi, the coach for Georges St-Pierre and other big names in the sport, watched McGregor as he took on rival Poirier in their trilogy bout, which saw the Irishman suffer a first round loss after a horror leg break.

However, it is McGregor’s antics away from the octagon that have come under scrutiny from a disgusted Zahabi, who has been left dumbfounded as to why ‘Notorious’ continues to hold a loyal fanbase. 

Conor McGregor’s behaviour ahead of his UFC 264 bout with Dustin Poirier has been criticised

Head coach Firas Zahabi (left, seen with Georges St-Pierre) admitted he was left ‘grossed out’

Zahabi said on the Tristar YouTube channel: ‘If [McGregor] has a single true friend in this world, that true friend is going to take him behind closed doors and tell him, “Look, the way you’re behaving, it’s stupid.”

‘”You’re making yourself look bad. You’re embarrassing us, your family, your friends.” It’s just a humiliating way for a true martial artist, a warrior, to behave.

‘He’s going after kids now. If that was anybody else, if that was a guy on a prelim card, we would all be like, “Kick this guy off the roster, kick this guy out of the UFC,” but because it’s Conor McGregor, you can’t say that. 

McGregor suffered a first round defeat by Poirier after breaking his left leg in horror fashion

‘Notorious’ was taken out of the octagon on a stretcher and is anticipated to be out for a year

‘It’s Conor McGregor, he’s the poster boy, he’s the one who sells all the tickets. No. There’s no pass for that.’

McGregor is now expected to be ruled out for a year while he recovers from the grizzly injury, and the outspoken superstar has now lost his last two fights – both coming against Poirier this year. 

He had looked to gain the mental advantage over his opponent at the UFC 264 press conference by throwing countless taunts across, and even mentioned Poirier’s wife in an unsightly twist to try and rattle him.

These methods have also been ripped into by Zahabi, who has admitted he was left with a sour taste after McGregor went on the warpath.  

McGregor and Dustin Poirier squared off at the press conference, with Dana White stepping in

‘I was really grossed out,’ Zahabi said. ‘I don’t know how you guys can be fans of this man. I respect him as a fighter. I respect his skills, I can’t deny that, but the way he behaved at the press conference was just horrible.’

He went on to add: ‘Whatever beef you have there, you can’t take it and start threatening to kill each other and then start threatening each other’s children, team members and whatnot.

‘That’s just animal behaviour. Then to say what he said about Poirier’s wife? It’s disgusting.

‘He’s so angry and jealous of Poirier. He will say and do anything to try and insult Poirier, try to take away this moment off Poirier. Listen, Poirier has beaten you, he’s a better fighter than you. He will be remembered as a better fighter than you.’

McGregor shared photos he says proves his left leg suffered stress fractures before the fight

The superstar has been found in positive spirits when updating his fans following his surgery 

Despite the manner of his latest setback, McGregor has been founded in positive spirits after successfully undergoing surgery on his left leg.

He told his supporters he has now been fitted with an ‘unbreakable titanium leg’, and also insisted that the leg had already suffered multiple stress fractures before he faced off against Poirier earlier this month.

McGregor shared several photos from his training camp, which showed him requiring medical attention in the build-up to the showdown, and claimed other fighters in the same position would have pulled out of the bout.

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