Referee’s assessment of Conor McGregor ‘knockdown’ is genuinely remarkable

Since that video dropped, the big question is did Conor McGregor knock or push Paulie Malignaggi down?

The answer you receive depends on who you ask. An MMA fan will more than likely argue that Paulie Malignaggi went down after Conor McGregor landed a punch, and therefore he was knocked down. The boxing supporters will probably back up Malignaggi's claim that McGregor dragged him down. In this case, the opinions of fans don't mean all that much. There should also be some natural scepticism over what analysts have been saying about it because balanced and knowledgeable experts in both professional boxing and martial arts are rare. Really, the only voice you should be listening to is the one who will be giving these two warriors instructions on August 26. The only person who anyone can be confident trusting to assess the incident is a licenced boxing referee. https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/888678270476009472 Licenced boxing referee and judge Tom Taylor recently gave his opinion of the clip to MMA Fighting and his response really says it all. When Taylor first saw the video, he was sure it was a knockdown, but watching it back made things a bit less clear.

“The first time I looked at the video — that quick six, seven seconds — it looked like a knockdown.

"But when you slow it down, you can see how he has him held down behind his neck, behind his head. Paulie pulls up and (McGregor) lets go, (Malignaggi’s) momentum is taking him. And then there’s that short little right hand that lands." https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/897472702537183232

If he was going off the footage, Talyor would rule it as 'no knockdown,' but he admitted that the ambiguity means he wouldn't have any issue if Joe Cortez didn't see it that way.

“It’s a judgment call and I think it could go either way. I wouldn’t argue it either way if a referee said it was a knockdown or no knockdown.”

Isn't that just amazing? Team McGregor has managed to put together a clip that could be interpreted two completely different ways and neither can be definitively proven to be correct. Absolute genius promotion as always from 'The Notorious".