Conor McGregor Denies Claims That He’s Racist

Conor McGregor is pushing back on claims that he’s racist, denying that he used the term “monkeys” in reference to African-Americans. McGregor spoke with Ariel Helwani (via MMA Fighting) on Friday and said that despite Floyd Mayweather’s accusations to the contrary, he’s never used the term in as a racist slur.

“I never labeled him a monkey or any African American or anyone a monkey,” McGregor said in the interview. “I would not disrespect any race like that. And his people know that. And you know what? He knows that, too. He knows that deep down, too.”

Mayweather’s claims stem from an interview McGregor did on Jimmy Kimmel Live. During the appearance, McGregor was asked if he could beat Rocky Balboa from Rocky III. McGregor said he didn’t know which film that was and asked if it was the one with the celebrity gym and “the dancing monkeys in the gym.”

The comment led Mayweather (and several others) to accuse McGregor of refering to the scene in the film when Balboa is brought to an all-African-American gym. McGregor said that he wasn’t talking about that scene and said he remembered a scene from a Rocky film in which there was a celebrity gym that was like a circus with clowns and monkeys. The interview is no longer available on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube page.

“That’s what I meant by that,” McGregor said. “Then, [Mayweather] tried to twist and manipulate. All I can say, if anyone was offended, I apologize. But it was not meant in that way at all. He knows it, his people know it. It’s a weak move on his part, it is a weasel move on his part.”

McGregor didn’t shy away from taking shots at Mayweather though, saying, “If I was to label him after any animal, it would be the rat. I wouldn’t even label him after the great ape. He is a f*cking rat and a weasel, because that’s that a rat and weasel does, tries to manipulate words and create something that’s not there. Ask [Leonard] Ellerbe, ask Floyd Sr. They know. It’s a weak move on his part to even try to instigate something. And something so sensitive. But that’s the individual he is. He’s a man that beats his wife in front of his kid. What can I say? All I can say is, I never spoke those things. That’s it.”

Mayweather and McGregor will meet in a boxing match on August 26th in Las Vegas.