UFC star Mcgregor inspired by young son
‘Great motivation’ for megabout with Floyd Jr.
UFC star Conor Mcgregor decided not to bring any big-name boxing trainers to help him prepare for his first foray into the sport against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
That doesn’t mean Mcgregor’s camp doesn’t have any new additions.
His 3-month-old son, Conor Jr., has been a fixture in Las Vegas as his father prepares for what is expected to be the biggest fight in combat sports history on Aug. 26 at T-mobile Arena.
Mcgregor carried his son into the UFC Performance Institute on Friday before speaking with reporters at his media day.
“He’s been a great motivation this camp,” the two-division UFC champion said.
The 29-year-old Irish superstar is relishing his new role as a father.
“I’m in awe of my little boy,” he said. “I’m in awe of him. Comparing images the other day (of myself at that age), and he looks exactly like me. I’m very happy about that.”
Mcgregor figures to bank in the neighborhood of $100 million for his bout against Mayweather when all the revenue streams are counted.
It’s a massive payday for a fighter who was collecting social welfare checks in Ireland before his UFC debut in 2013.
Mcgregor’s astronomical rise in the UFC was unexpected.
His ability to talk himself into a boxing match against Mayweather and the nine-figure check that comes with it was downright stunning.
Mcgregor can’t wait to share the tale with his son one day.
“That’s one of the things I look
forward to the most,” Mcgregor said. “To show him back my whole career, this crazy journey I’ve been on. And to show him all the hard work and sacrifice that I’ve put into this. He will come up surrounded by many luxuries, but he will always know that it’s hard work that achieves this. In order to achieve great things in this life you must work hard, and that’s the message I will give my son.”
Both Mcgregor and Mayweather are training in Las Vegas for the bout, which will air on pay per view.
Bang indicted
Former UFC lightweight Tae Hyun Bang has been indicted in South Korea for his role in a match-fixing scandal, prosecutors told the Korea Herald on Monday.
According to the complaint, Bang accepted approximately $87,950 to intentionally lose a bout to Leo Kuntz on the UFC Fight Night 79 card in 2015.
UFC officials warned Bang of highly suspicious activity in the betting market before the fight and he had a change of heart, eventually winning the bout by split decision.
Bang had been bet from a slight favorite to a massive underdog with an abnormal amount of money coming across the counter for a preliminary-card bout.
The 34-year-old South Korean fighter competed once more in the UFC after the win over Kuntz and was released from the organization in 2016.
Rogerio de Lima flagged
UFC light heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima has been pulled
from an upcoming bout against Saparbek Safarov after an out-of-competition test was flagged by the U.S. Anti-doping Agency.
Rogerio de Lima was set to fight Safarov on the UFC Fight Night 115 card on Sept. 2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The UFC was notified last week of the potential violation by USADA, stemming from a sample collected on Aug. 1.
“USADA has provisionally suspended Rogerio de Lima based on the potential anti-doping violation,” a statement from the UFC read. “Given the provisional suspension and the proximity of the Rotterdam event, Rogerio de Lima has been removed from the card and UFC is currently seeking a replacement. USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Rogerio de Lima.
“Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
De Lima has had an inconsistent UFC career, stringing together a 4-3 record in the octagon with all four wins coming in the first round. He has also missed weight for his last two fights.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.