Conor McGregor’s five-word message to the world after brutal defeat

Conor McGregor borrowed a line from an infamous movie bad guy in his first comments since suffering a shattering defeat at UFC 264.

Conor McGregor is remaining unrepentant after his shattering defeat against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

The Irishman was branded classless after following a week of taunting Poirier about his wife and telling his opponent he was going to murder him with another angry outburst as he sat slumped against the cage with a broken leg.

Many believed it was a bad look and it appears the UFC fanbase is turning against the biggest star the sport has ever known.

But McGregor has a message for those who are casting him as a villain: “You need people like me.”

That was the soon to be 33-year-old’s message for the world after he was unable to appear at a post-fight press conference because he needed to go to hospital to have surgery on his leg.

It’s a quote from the film Scarface, where Al Pacino’s Tony Montana tells a restaurant filled with upper-class types they don’t have “the guts to be what they want to be”.

“You need people like me so you can point your f***ing fingers and say ‘that’s the bad guy’,” Montana rants.

“So what’s that make you? Good? You not good. You just no how to hide. How to lie.”

It offers a window into McGregor’s mindset as his transformation from loveable rogue to over-the-top boor continues.

“He remains a supreme talent, but his act has worn very thin,” veteran fight scribe Kevin Iole wrote after a wild night in Las Vegas.

“He needs to take a very long look in the mirror and have some of the people around him speak truth to power.

“He’s out of control and makes himself look bad every time he opens his mouth.”

McGregor appears determined to continue fighting despite now having lost three of his past four fights in the UFC.

He wants a fourth fight with Poirier as soon as his leg heals and will be granted that wish by UFC boss Dana White after Poirier has fought for the lightweight title.

But how McGregor comports himself between now and that moment remains to be seen.

If his first comment is anything to go by, he may be leaning towards the Floyd Mayweather playbook of promotion: I don’t care if you’re watching in the hope I’ll lose, as long as you’re watching.

Or perhaps he might even veer towards Mike Tyson territory where every public appearance is a circus where anything could happen, so you better not miss it.

Conor McGregor is transforming into a villain. Picture: Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Either path would be disappointing given the maturity and likability McGregor displayed in the lead-up to his January, 2020, fight against Donald Cerrone and his second bout with Poirier in January this year.

That version of McGregor was widely plauded, but perhaps it doesn’t sell as well, and for a prize-fighter perhaps the money is all that matters.