The saga of Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi’s sparring sessions has taken a life of its own. After Malignaggi had consistently claimed McGregor had underwhelmed him, UFC president Dana White changed the entire narrative by releasing two clips of McGregor hurting the former boxing champion.
In the aftermath of that release, Malignaggi has attempted to defend himself, stating he believes the footage to have been masterfully edited and not to show the entire context. And so, re-enter Dana White.
“Let me tell you what,” White said, speaking with Sky Sports. “I was there for all twelve rounds, and Paulie has said some crazy things, some bad things about me — I felt sorry for the guy. It was a one way beating. A lot of people are saying Conor couldn’t box, Paulie was obviously lying about everything he was saying about the sparring match, so I released it.
“I got no problem releasing the full tape,” White continued. “The problem is Conor doesn’t want Mayweather to see everything he’s doing and working on. Those were just some clips. It was very one sided, it was an absolute beating, and guess what? I think it was the right thing to do for Paulie Malignaggi to leave. For his healths sake.”
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