Conor McGregor silenced his critics at UFC 202. Now, he’s encouraging Ronda Rousey to do the same to her detractors at UFC 207.
Rousey will fight Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship on Dec. 30 in her first bout since losing the title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November. It’s reasonable to wonder whether Rousey will be rusty after being away from the octagon for over a year, but McGregor offered some advice that suggests she could feed off the doubt.
“I’d tell her to go shut them all up now,” McGregor recently told SI.com. “Shut them all up. Go and stake your claim again.”
McGregor suffered his own setback in March when he lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. The Notorious defeated Diaz in their rematch at UFC 202, though, showing he knows a thing or two about rebounding in the face of adversity.
Rousey’s bounce-back effort could be more difficult, especially with how impressive Nunes looked in destroying Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July. But Rousey was a dominant force before being knocked out by Holm. It should make for an interesting clash in Las Vegas.
“I wish Ronda nothing but the best, it’s good to see her back,” McGregor said, per SI.com. “Some people take defeat and losses a certain way. You see how some fighters take losses. I’m happy she is ready to go again and I wish her well.
“Go and shut these people up now. Go and get what you began back. I’m excited to see how it unfolds.”
McGregor has his own score to settle next month at UFC 205, when he faces Eddie Alvarez and tries to become the first fighter in UFC history to own belts in two different weight classes simultaneously.
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
