'We're all in it on our own': McGregor comes into bat for Rousey

Conor McGregor says people criticising Ronda Rousey for her UFC 207 defeat have "the wrong mindset".

Rousey lost to Amanda Nunes in her comeback and has bunkered down since, stepping out of the spotlight as she did while preparing for the December fight.

McGregor, who won his last fight at UFC 205 to become the lightweight champion, was disappointed to see people cheer for Rousey's loss.

“When Ronda lost, I woke up to all these messages: ‘Now let’s see what they do.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ I don’t celebrate (that),” he said in an interview in Manchester over the weekend.

"I love Ronda. I’ve always supported Ronda, and then when she loses that second one people are trying to make me celebrate like, ‘Now they’ve got nobody.’ That’s the wrong mindset. I don’t celebrate another person’s defeat like that. That’s weak. That’s a weak individual that does that."

"There’s people that tried to celebrate when I lost that got nothing to do with it. That’s not the sign of the champion – that’s not the sign of a true champion. I couldn’t believe it.

"We’re all in it on our own, but what someone else does or doesn’t do has no effect on me and what I do. I’m doing what I do, she’s doing what she’s doing, everyone else is doing what they’re doing and it is what it is.”

McGregor was pulled from UFC 200 last July when he requested to bypass pre-fight publicity, a decision that now stands in stark contrast to Rousey's UFC 207 treatment.

With the blessing of the organisation, Rousey skipped nearly every media availability before her fight.

"I didn’t give a (expletive),” McGregor said.

"She didn’t have to do the media and that’s great. If they would have done that to me I would have showed up at UFC 200, but we split the card. UFC 200 did great numbers, UFC 202 did great numbers.

"I’m sitting there and I heard she requested no media and got no media and I was happy for her because that’s what she asked for. Then I also didn’t give a (expletive).”

While he may not have cared, McGregor certainly took note of Rousey's plans.

And he's unlikely to copy any of her techniques.

“She handled it one way, but I don’t think what way she handled it was incorrect. She did what she had to do," he said.

"She got away from the spotlight, she focused on her preparation. She got hit early and went down. That’s it. That’s the fight game, it’s a cruel business.

"I handled it the way I felt I had to handle it. I’m a cocky motherf*****, but if you come in and get me, I’ll stand before you and stand before everyone and say, ‘You got me. I’ll get you next time.’ That’s it.”