After former UFC double champ Conor McGregor‘s announcement of a comeback was made earlier this year, the Irishman has found a new fan in the form of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal. The former NBA star, in a one-on-one with Inside Fighting, had expressed his admiration for ‘The Notorious’. O’Neal even claimed that the fighter and he shared a few common traits that made them great competitors inside their respectful playing fields. Although it’s always great news for any individual when a notable legend like Shaq himself expresses their admiration, it hasn’t really worked the same for the former NBA star himself.

The 4 time NBA champion’s interview was reported online by media outlet MMA Junkie on Twitter and fans clearly did not see eye to eye with what O’Neal had to say. Shaq was subjected to quite a few name-callings, as some felt that he should continue with his analysis on basketball and avoid foraying into MMA.

Fans thrash Shaquille O’Neal for claiming Conor McGregor will return to the top

During his conversation with Inside Fighting, the former basketball star had expressed his conviction that McGregor would make a big comeback. Since the announcement of the Irishman’s return, many fighters and personalities have shared their view on how they felt ‘The Notorious’ would fare, but O’Neal‘s comments came as a surprise.

Talking about the Irishman’s comeback this year, he pointed out that McGregor was looking in shape and expressed his confidence in the former double champ.

“He’s looking real good. I know he’s going to come back with vengeance.” Those were his exact words.

Since he mostly sticks to basketball analysis, fans felt his opinion to be completely uninformed.

The displeasure among MMA fans was clearly visible in their tweets.

Some MMA fans had unique ways to make light of O’Neal’s comments.

One individual asked the former NBA star to stick to his field of expertise.

Even McGregor fans seemed to disagree with O’Neal’s claims.

Another tweet read how O’Neal was a true casual MMA fan.

Finally, one fan also questioned why a former basketball player was covering MMA and getting paid millions.

Although this was not all that Shaq said, further in the conversation with Inside Fighting, the 50-year-old voiced high praise for the former double champ. Moreover, while calling him a showman and a competitor, O’Neal reflected on his competitive attributes and claimed that McGregor too shared those qualities in him.

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Although fans clearly did not seem to be a fan of O’Neal’s comments on this subject, there is no denying that he sees the UFC star as another competitive athlete. And that could be one of the reasons why he believed in the Irishman’s long-awaited return.

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