Conor McGregor defends Joe Rogan following Stephen A Smith UFC feud

Conor McGregor defended Joe Rogan on Twitter, after popular ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith responded to his criticisms in an epic rant.

Joe Rogan criticized popular sports broadcaster Stephen A Smith during his January 24 MMA show, for calling fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone a “quitter” after his recent loss at UFC 246.

However, the ESPN personality responded to the podcast host calling his criticisms “unwarranted” in a three minute video, which caused Conor McGregor to jump into the feud and tell him to “apologise.”

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Conor McGregor tells Stephen A. Smith to “apologise”

On January 25, Smith uploaded a three minute response video where he stated he had “mad respect” for Rogan, but believed he was wrong. “Me being at the Conor McGregor fight, saying that he didn’t show us much in 40 seconds, that warrants “it’s not good for the sport. It’s not good for ESPN”?” he asked.

The sports broadcaster then defended his years of experience. “I certainly don’t claim to be the aficionado that you are, or anybody else covering this sport. But excuse me, I have been a reporter for 25 years. I have covered sports on a variety of levels,” he continued.

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In his response, he shied away from addressing Rogan’s criticism of him calling Cowboy a quitter, but instead said, “Cowboy in his first pay-per view match, folded. I respect him, but he folded like a cheap tent. Joe Rogan if you need me, you know where to find me.”

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Soon after posting the video, UFC legend Conor McGregor weighed in on the two commentators’ feud, and defended Rogan’s critical takedown of the ESPN personality, stating, “Joe’s comments however, come from you saying the opposition fighter quit.”

Echoing what Rogan said during his podcast, he exclaimed, “Broken nose/orbital bone say different. Fighting is vicious. Those who make the walk, deserve full respect!” before calling on him to “apologise” to Cowboy.

Stephen A Smith replied to the MMA fighter, but refused to address his initial comments, instead stating, “Tremendous respect for you along with Joe Rogan. Both of you are fantastic for the UFC. I wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much without the both of you. But we clearly disagree with Cowboy’s performance on Jan. 18.”

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At the time of this article, Stephen A Smith’s response video amassed over 2.2 million views and over 33k likes, putting a further spotlight on their disagreement.

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Whether the hatchet will be buried between him and Rogan remains to be seen, as the UFC commentator has yet to reply, but perhaps the ESPN host can be a guest on his podcast where they can work out their differences.