AKATECH NEWS

LEBRON JAMES OFFERS STRONG WORDS OF SUPPORT FOR CONOR MCGREGOR.

MAR 30

POSTED BY: Akatech solutions | | DATE: March 30, 2016.

Conor McGregor, right, took a beating from Nate Diaz at UFC 196. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

Source: Yahoo news

It’s unclear if Conor McGregor needs cheering up (this TMZ report would seem to indicate otherwise), but in the wake of his upset loss at UFC 196 on Saturday, the MMA fighter can take some comfort in knowing that LeBron James is in his corner. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ star offered extensive comments about McGregor Monday, saying the Irishman will be “a champion for the rest of his life.”

McGregor was forced to submit when Nate Diaz was able to apply a rear naked choke in the second round of their 170-pound, non-title match. McGregor went up 25 pounds from his usual fighting weight, at which he is the UFC’s featherweight champion, in order to take on Diaz, who was a late injury substitute for a 155-pound fight against Rafael dos Anjos.

[UFC 196: Nate Diaz upsets Conor McGregor; Miesha Tate chokes out Holly Holm]

“Champions take lumps all the time,” James said on Monday. “It doesn’t make you no less of a man, it doesn’t make you no less of a champion because you take an ‘L’. It’s not about how you react in the good of good, it’s how you come back in the great of a loss or a defeat, when people say you’re down.

“I think he’s as strong as who [he was] before that,” James continued. “… Probably the greatest champion ever in Muhammad Ali went down before, so it doesn’t matter.”

[Holly Holm asks for rematch with Miesha Tate at UFC 200]

James, of course, knows something about having to get off the mat, at least in a figurative sense. He lost in his first two trips to the NBA Finals, and four times in six trips overall, including last season against the Golden State Warriors.

James also appears to be a pretty big fan of McGregor’s. In January, heposted a photo of and a quote from the Irish fighter, while writing, “I’m obsessed!”

“He will be a champion for the rest of his life and no one can take it away from him,” James said Monday. “It will always be a part of his resumé. It will always be a part of what goes on with him, and he’s determined to continue to prove doubters wrong.

“He’s built that throughout his career and he will continue to do that as I’ve seen some of his quotes after the fight.”

Indeed, McGregor stayed true to his brash ways after his loss Saturday, firing back at Jose Aldo, whom he had defeated for the featherweight crown and who reveled in his loss. McGregor told reporters that Aldo seemed like a “loser” and “a runner-up,” and he also posted a lengthy note to his Instagram account declaring that he would “take this loss like a man” and “eat it all and come back stronger.”

[Conor McGregor says he’ll ‘take this loss like a man,’ takes shots at rivals]

So, no, it doesn’t sound like McGregor is feeling particularly down in the dumps these days. However, the loss had to sting what appears to be a considerable ego, and in that sense, getting strong words of praise from no less a sports luminary than LeBron can’t hurt at all.