Conor McGregor knockdown video with Paulie Malignaggi

Screengrab via @ConormcGregor5/Twitter

UFC finally releases the Conor McGregor-Paulie Malignaggi sparring video

Here's the controversial moment everyone has been talking about.

 

Austin Powell

Streaming

Posted on Aug 12, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 8:47 pm CDT

The highly anticipated fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather has contained plot lines within plot lines. The most compelling of which has been the sudden exit of McGregor’s sparring partner Pauli Malignaggi, a former IBF and WBA World Champion, who has been thrashing McGregor on Twitter.

What was already a tense working relationship boiled over after McGregor’s team released photos in early August of a practice session that appeared to show Malignaggi knocked down. He claimed he was pushed and called for the release of the full sparring session to clear his reputation.

Late Friday night, UFC President Dana White obliged, finally releasing the “video everyone wanted to see of Conor vs Paulie Malignaggi.” Sort of.

The 30 seconds or so of footage does show the knockdown in question, but the matter is far from settled, especially from Malignaggi’s perspective. He’s been sparring with just about everyone on Twitter.

So, was it a knockdown? It really doesn’t matter. We’re just two weeks away from finding out whether McGregor can really compete in a boxing ring. Malignaggi doesn’t like his odds.

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*First Published: Aug 12, 2017, 11:43 am CDT