‘You are one of the greatest ever’… Conor McGregor praises MMA legend and offers career advice after rare KO loss at UFC 307

Conor McGregor has lept to the defence of legendary striker Stephen Thompson after his loss last night.

The Irishman watched on as ‘Wonderboy’ was knocked out for just the second time in his career by Joaquin Buckley at UFC 307 in Utah. And while he was impressed with the 41-year-old’s skillset, he felt that aggression was needed in order to get the result.

The fight had been relatively close, with all three judges disagreeing in their scoring of the first two rounds. But with just under two minutes to go, Buckley landed a massive hook that rendered the karate expert unconscious.

Who is Conor McGregor? Step inside the hedonistic life of UFC’s ‘notorious’ bad boy and legendary double champStephen Thompson responds after being viciously knocked out by Joaquin Buckley at UFC 307Throughout the first two rounds in their main card bout last night, it really seemed like it was anybody’s fight between Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley. The veteran welterweight was battling the takedowns well and landing in his own right, with one judge scoring both rounds to him.

But with it all to play for heading into the third, Buckley managed to find success as he pressed forward with a tactic where he would finish up each combination with one unorthodox punch. It ended up working as he landed a big overhand right that immediately saw the fight stopped.

Not much to say other than I sincerely appreciate all of the love and support I felt from the fans tonight and always 🙏🏻❤️ the love you’ve shown me really fills my heart. The roar of the crowd as I walked out to the cage and my name was announced is something I’ll cherish… pic.twitter.com/nNg5XoLL53

— Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) October 6, 2024 View Tweet

In the aftermath of his defeat, ‘Wonderboy’ took to social media to share a video where he showed that he was healthy and thanked his fans for ‘showing out’ for him. “Not much to say other than I sincerely appreciate all of the love and support I felt from the fans tonight and always,” he wrote.

“The love you’ve shown me really fills my heart. The roar of the crowd as I walked out to the cage and my name was announced is something I’ll cherish forever. I’m sorry I didn’t get it done tonight. Much love to you all and much love to SLC.”

Conor McGregor offers advice to ‘one of the greatest’ Stephen Thompson after UFC 307 lossIn response to the video, legendary two-weight world champion Conor McGregor took to social media to pay his respects to Thompson’s performance. The pair have always been friendly, with the striker even showing up to help McGregor coach on The Ultimate Fighter last year.

“My brother Stephen, STAND YOUR GROUND!” McGregor demanded in a now-deleted tweet. “You are more accurate, faster, more skill, faster eye. Stand your ground and fire! Skipping back for what? What are we skipping back for?

“Get them hurt first then you can skip and dance around. But hurt them first. Stand and fire missiles! You have an incredible array! Stand your ground and trust yourself! Rest up brother! Unlucky in there!”

Thompson replied with a typically humble message, using McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh’s famous catchphrase as he thanked him for his support. “Like they say ‘you win or you learn,” he wrote. “I always appreciate the advice of fellow martial artists. Thank you for your support!”

McGregor then offered another message in which he branded Thompson an all-time octagon great. He also continued to advise him to add a new aggression to his game.

“Rest up Stephen, you are one the greatest to ever step foot in that Octagon,” McGregor wrote before deleting both of his messages. “With that mindset change I just know you can come back and stop people handily! Absolutely handily!

“Let’s say the opening bell hits there and your G.P is to stand and fire! No back foot! You are winning that in round one. After you rest, drill it in practice over and over and over and revert to me off public line, please. No back foot. I look forward! Enjoy your rest and congrats on another Octagon performance!

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