Raul Rosas Jr. Humiliates Colby Covington, Conor McGregor's Alleged Reaction to It Goes Viral

Raul Rosas Jr. made easy work of Colby Covington in their recent grappling match in Rome, Italy, submitting the former UFC interim welterweight champion in just 43 seconds. While many in the Pala Pellicone arena were shocked by the result, a viral video on social media showed Conor McGregor bursting out laughing at how Covington was humiliated by the 22-year-old UFC prospect.

Given McGregor's brash persona and Covington's big mouth, 'The Notorious's' disrespectful reaction to 'Chaos's' defeat doesn't seem unlikely, but McGregor had something else to say.

Conor McGregor Denies Laughing Disrespectfully at Colby Covington's Defeat

Rosas Jr. stepped in as the eleventh-hour replacement for Dillon Danis, who pulled out of the November 3 matchup just a day ago. The fact that he still managed to defeat a well-established wrestler like Covington within the first minute makes his feat even more impressive.

After making Covington tap out with a face crank in just 43 secs, Rosas Jr. went to the crowd to celebrate his victory. This is when the broadcast cameras displayed McGregor laughing hysterically at Covington's humiliation from his seat among the audience. 'The Notorious' reaction went viral on social media in no time.

CHIWIWI’S ‼️🗣️ Raúl Rosas Jr. has just submitted Colby Covington in 40 Seconds ON SHORT NOTICE. 🤯 @RaulRosasJr8 Powered by @1xBet_Eng #HypeRome #HypeFighting https://t.co/4xxMBvpeCt

— Hype Fighting (@Hype_Fighting) November 3, 2026

The comments section of the posts highlighting McGregor's reaction showed that most fans didn't appreciate it. A few gave him a reality check by reminding him how he injured himself in his return fight at UFC 329 and was forced to quit within the first two minutes.

McGregor came to his own defense a few hours after his reaction started going viral. The former UFC champ-champ confirmed that he was in the arena, along with mentioning that his reaction shown in the video was authentic. But he stated that all of it happened at a different point in time, not after Covington's loss, as the video portrayed.

McGregor labeled the video "false and fully edited" in his X update, saying, "This is false and fully edited. I had an amazing and fun time at the show in Rome tonight, as is evident in the clip of myself laughing, however it’s placement as if it was at this moment of the show is FALSE."

He continued, "I do not laugh at competing men and women. I respect them! Win lose draw! Bravo to all the combatants and thank you!"

This is false and fully edited. I had an amazing and fun time at the show in Rome tonight, as is evident in the clip of myself laughing, however it’s placement as if it was at this moment of the show is FALSE. I do not laugh at competing men and women. I respect them! Win lose draw! Bravo to all the combatants and thank you!

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 4, 2026

Many avid UFC fans may not agree with McGregor's remarks about "respecting" every competing man and woman. While he has lived up to these words on many occasions, fans might remember him dissing his adversaries in the harshest ways possible, including going after Khabib Nurmagomedov's race, religion, and family.

While McGregor has already presented his justification in this case, it's pertinent to note that the event was broadcast live by DAZN. This makes it extremely unlikely that DAZN inserted the pre-recorded video of the laughing McGregor into their live broadcast to make it seem like he enjoyed Covington's annihilation.

Nothing, however, can be documented till DAZN decides to address this issue officially.