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07th Mar 2016

British UFC fighter defends Conor McGregor bandwagon supporters after UFC 196 defeat

All aboard

Kevin Beirne

The Conor McGregor bandwagon came to a crashing halt on Sunday morning.

After building himself up to be the greatest of all time, The Notorious was submitted by a fighter who had just 11 days’ notice and boasted an uninspiring 18-10 career record prior to the fight.

The result led many long-term MMA fans to rejoice that those they see as fair-weather fans will lose interest in the sport now that McGregor has been defeated in the octagon.

But not everyone is sure that would be such a good thing, as McGregor’s popularity has undoubtedly given a new legitimacy to MMA in the mainstream.

British bantamweight Brad “One Punch” Pickett took to Twitter to remind those celebrating the derailment of the McGregor hype train that they should be grateful to the Irishman for growing the profile of the sport.