Knockdown or push? Footage of Conor McGregor sparring session with Paulie Malignaggi released

Paulie Malignaggi accused Conor McGregor of releasing misleading photos from their controversial sparring session, but new footage may have shed light on who really got the better of their exchanges.

The former boxer labelled McGregor a “scumbag” after quitting his training camp over the incident, ahead of the Irishman’s much-hyped bout against Floyd Mayweather Jnr on August 26.

Malignaggi claimed he had been pushed down, rather than knocked down, when images leaked on social media showing him on the canvas during their second spar.

He called on McGregor’s camp to release footage of all 12 rounds, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has posted a clip of the incident on his Twitter account.

White, who was present at the sparring session, also posted another clip showing McGregor getting the better of the 36-year-old former two-weight world champion.

At a media workout on Friday at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, McGregor said Malignaggi’s complaints were “concussion talk”.

“I don’t know how it got leaked,” the 29-year-old said of the original controversial sparring photo. “When I found out, I pulled it back.

“Obviously, the internet is the internet. It blew up and then he had such an ego about it and so much pride and he went running.”

The bad blood between the pair stems back to last year when Malignaggi talked trash about McGregor for calling out Mayweather, saying he could beat the Irishman with one arm tied behind his back.

“So I released one picture with me whooping his ass with both hands behind my back,” McGregor said.

In an interview with The MMA Hour podcast, Malignaggi said the training camp accommodations were better suited to drug dealers. “They put me in some kind of a crackhouse,” he said.

“When I heard the stuff he was saying, I was like, ‘That’s concussion talk’,” McGregor said. “The man was badly, badly concussed. Look at his face. He was busted up bad.”