Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh hit out at Joe Rogan for interviewing the fighter after his shocking ankle injury. The trainer explained why he was “miffed” at the podcast host for talking to the Irish star only moments after his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
The trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier came to an abrupt end after McGregor’s ankle broke in a freak accident. In a viral moment, UFC commentator Joe Rogan sat down next to the injured Irishman and interviewed him after he lost the July 10 contest.
While many fans loved the lengths the JRE Podcast creator was willing to go to talk to the former champion, the 32-year-old star’s coach was not too thrilled about it. In a lengthy interview, John Kavanagh criticized the comedian for “shoving” a microphone in the face of a competitor who needed medical attention.
John Kavanagh calls out Joe Rogan for Conor McGregor interview
In an interview with UFC reporter Laura Sanko, Kavanaugh opened up about his take on Joe Rogan interviewing McGregor after the fighter broke his ankle. “I have my opinions on that. Like his foot is literally hanging down. It’s a clean fracture of the fibula and tibia. It went straight through. His foot is hanging down. You can only imagine the rush of hormones and the pain, it was on fire,” he said.
The head coach then criticized Rogan for interviewing him while he was severely injured. “And then someone sits down and sticks a microphone under your face like “How are you feeling right now?” …It’s like, guys, come on! Come on. Let’s get backstage and let’s get a proper assessment by a doctor, let’s get an x-ray.”
Kavanagh followed up stating that he was not happy with the Joe Rogan Experience host for his behavior. “Let’s say I was pretty miffed at that idea of shoving a microphone in someone’s face at that stage. Let’s gather ourselves and let’s… Anyways look, what’s happened has happened.”
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Although Conor’s head coach was not a fan of the viral interview, many viewers came to the defense of Rogan. Fans pointed out that McGregor had been yelling while the podcast host was interviewing winner Dustin Poirier
“Conor yelled waaaaay before Joe came next to him,” one user wrote. Another exclaimed, “He literally asked for a chance to talk, stop making excuses for ya boi.”
It should be pointed out that some were also highly critical of Conor’s continued attacks on Dustin Poirier’s wife after the match. So Kavanaugh’s remarks could also be explaining why fighters shouldn’t be interviewed in such an agitated state. Regardless of how you feel about the post-fight interview, UFC 264 will certainly go down as memorable.
In an update on July 11, the Irish star revealed that he had successfully had surgery and felt “tremendous.” Only time will tell if the 32-year-old will get back into the Octagon and finish his long-running rivalry. UFC owner Dana White seems up to it and even stated that the fight was “not over” with how it concluded.