Moments after Conor McGregor defeated Donald Cerrone in the UFC 246 main event, he knelt down beside his bloodied foe to exchange a few words.
“I love you Donald,” McGregor began.
“Those shoulder shots broke it, eh?” he added, referencing the shoulder strikes he used to shatter Cerrone’s nose moments into the fight.
This brief exchange between McGregor and Cerrone can be heard in the UFC 246 edition of the UFC’s popular The Thrill and the Agony series, which gives fans a behind the scenes look at the biggest and most emotional moments from each UFC pay-per-view card.
See it below.
In the same video, we’re given a close-up on McGregor’s post-fight chat with Cerrone’s grandmother, the woman that raised the beloved lightweight gunslinger.
“I have respect for you, so much respect for you,” McGregor said to Cerrone’s grandmother. “You raised a hell of a boy. You should be proud, I’m serious.”
Other highlights of this video include the cage-side reactions from UFC commentators Joe Rogan, Jon Anik and Paul Felder, as well as reactions from McGregor’s team, Cerrone’s team, UFC President Dana White, and heavyweight boxing star Tyson Fury.
Prior to his win over Donald Cerrone, McGregor had not tasted victory since all the way back in November of 2016, when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez to become a two-division UFC champion. After his win over Alvarez, he came up short in a blockbuster boxing match with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017, then tapped out to undefeated UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.
From here, it’s not clear what McGregor will do next, although he has plenty of high-profile options, ranging from Jorge Masvidal, to Kamaru Usman, to Nate Diaz, to Khabib Nurmagomedov to Justin Gaethje.
The future is similarly nebulous for Cerrone. While he will first need to spend some time mending on the sidelines, it’s difficult to say who he’ll fight when he’s healthy again.
What do you think of this post-fight exchange between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/23/2020.