Former two division world champion Paulie Malignaggi has accused UFC superstar Conor McGregor of deceiving the public with his statements and various training camp materials released to the public.
Malignaggi was hired by McGregor to help the MMA fighter prepare for the upcoming showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on August 26th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
By their second sparring session, numerous photos were leaked by McGregor's team members, which created the image that Malignaggi took a bad beating and was knocked down to the mat.
After the images were released, Malignaggi immediately quit the training camp and left Las Vegas.
Last Friday, UFC President Dana White released two short video clips of the most recent sparring session - which Malignaggi said was perfectly edited to make McGregor look good.
Malignaggi, who will be ringside as part of the Showtime Pay-Per-View broadcast team, believes McGregor is selling a big check that he'll never be able to cash once he steps in the ring with Mayweather - widely regarded as one of the best defensive fighters in boxing history.
“[Those videos], it was done very well. It was a nice Hollywood edit. But at the end of the day, the fact that it made such a splash is what I think is cute and adorable,” Malignaggi said to MMA Junkie Radio.
“Because Conor is trying so hard. Like, ‘Guys, listen, I can do this. I’m going to knock Floyd Mayweather out in two rounds.’ You can keep lying all you want. If he was Pinocchio, he’d be able to hit (Floyd) from the other side of the ring with his nose, that’s how much he’s been deceiving the public.
“Well, this isn’t a Disney movie, my friend. This is real life. August 26th, this isn’t a Disney movie. Across the ring, you’ve got Floyd Mayweather, and he knows what he’s doing.”
