Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe daily debate the sports issues of the day on their FOX Sports 1 show Undisputed. Their combined knowledge of MMA is 0, and the pair are marginally better on boxing, but what they know cumulatively is on Sharpe’s side.
Each had the identical prediction for MayMac – KO in Round 9, but Sharpe liked Mayweather and Bayless chose McGregor. When Sharpe proved very nearly correct, Bayless posted a video on his social network arguing that McGregor was about to win in Round 9, but the ref saved Mayweather. At that point Bayless had McGregor ahead on points, a point of view held by just two people on Earth – McGregor’s mum and pa, long-term partner Dee Devlin having been too nervous to watch.
The whole thing flipped and turned in round number nine,” said Bayless as transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMA Mania. “Floyd Mayweather was in trouble in this fight. But, the turning point to me, and I would like to see the video of this came in round nine.”
It was ironically the round Shannon Sharpe predicted a knockout for Floyd and the round I predicted a knockout for Conor. Right away, Conor was coming off his best round, a bounce back round in round eight, in my card I had him ahead.
Then in nine, he comes out aggressive and he stunned Floyd. He hit him with a hard left, rocked him and buckled him and Floyd’s in trouble in the corner and when Conor goes in for the kill. It happened so fast I need to see a replay, but he had him and Robert Byrd pulls him away.
In that moment, I thought that’s it. Again, I’m just going off my instinct, my gut and Conor had him on the ropes. He was then backed off to the middle of the ring and he had spent himself on that salvo. Eight took a lot out of McGregor.
He took a shot to end it early in round nine and he got pulled off. I swear Robert Byrd saved the fight. He saved it. Byrd, long time referee in Las Vegas, highly respected. but he gave Floyd a big break he didn’t deserve.
(1:28 mark)
We can once again turn to Zombie Prophet (follow him) for a look at what Bayless is referring to.
https://twitter.com/ZPGIFs/status/901879364090036227
The exchange was odd. McGregor landed a borderline low blow and Mayweather backed up fast, clearly feeling the effects of the punch. Mayweather shelled up and McGregor leaned on him, throwing punches.
Only then did referee Robert Byrd step in, pull McGregor off Mayweather, and explain why.
”Low blow and you leaned on him,” said Byrd. “Don’t do that.”
And with that, Mayweather was recovered and came back in the next round to win via TKO.
McGregor was indeed leaning on Mayweather while hitting him, in violation of the rules of prizefighting. But if the punch was indeed low, why did Byrd wait to break them up? Expect more to be made of it, much more, when talk about a rematch heats up.
