Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294

Conor McGregor expressed his thoughts on Islam Makhachev’s impressive first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294, suggesting that the victory should not have been allowed due to illegal strikes.

The former UFC champion responded to Makhachev’s finish by claiming that Volkanovski was rendered unconscious by strikes delivered to the back of his head.

During the first round of the main event, Makhachev, a left-handed fighter, grazed Volkanovski’s head with his shin, causing the featherweight champion to lose his balance and fall.

Makhachev then unleashed a barrage of powerful hammer fists on the grounded Australian, resulting in a split brow for Volkanovski.

Referee Marc Goddard intervened, declaring a decisive victory and title defense for Makhachev, who is both a protégé and childhood friend of UFC lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

This win extends Makhachev’s winning streak to 13 fights since his only loss in 2015.

On the other hand, Volkanovski suffered his third defeat as a professional fighter, but he maintains an undefeated record in his preferred weight class of 145lbs.

As he watched the fight unfold, McGregor took to Twitter/X to comment on Volkanovski’s vulnerability to southpaw fighters, stating, “He was always susceptible to that vs a southpaw.”

However, a fan pointed out to McGregor that Volkanovski appeared to have been struck on the back of his head, which is against the rules.

In response, McGregor acknowledged the difficulty of refereeing in such situations, stating, “A difficult sport to ref.” These comments have since been deleted.

McGregor further elaborated, “To stop that on a warning or a point deduction when volk was essentially out already is a tricky one. But there would be grounds for it, 100 per cent. Would have been nail-biting stuff.”

He concluded, “I’d have loved to see it happen. Back of the head shots are not good.”