Conor McGregor has offered a lengthy defence of his performance against Khabib Nurmagomedov, saying he was beaten "fair and square" and is willing to take on "the next in line" to secure a rematch.
McGregor struggled throughout the UFC 229 main event and the post-fight drama distracted from how convincing the outcome was.
The Dubliner went through each round, describing how "from a fight standpoint the first round is mine" before claiming his opponent was "blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight" in the second round.
He added: "If I stay switched on and gave his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely differently now.
"I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. That won’t happen again."
The 30-year-old believed he won the third round after being extremely critical of the previous five minutes.
"After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage."
He concluded by saying in the fourth round he made another mistake that led to the end of the fight.
"I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square.
"What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared. If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all."
McGregor was in Boston on Saturday to support Katie Taylor in her title defence and told the Bray boxer he would return when the time is right.
