McGregor ready to continue making history
‘Watch what happens when he’s on steaks’
AMID the empty bluster of a fanciful $1billion fight with Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor identified the biggest threat to his UFC dominance as himself.
Not the danger of distraction that could see him squander his fighting fortune which runs into the many millions.
But an exact replica of a man who refuses to acknowledge a limit to his potential.
‘I’d love to fight myself if I could,’ he says. ‘Imagine the numbers that would do, if there was two of me.’
Instead McGregor must be satisfied with the challenge of Nate Diaz who stepped in at 11 days’ notice to replace lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos who broke his foot in training.
The Brazilian’s absence robbed McGregor of the opportunity to become the first fighter in the promotion’s history to hold two titles concurrently after his 13- second obliteration of Jose Aldo l ast December earned him the featherweight crown.
Not that the Dubliner is prepared to accept a downgrading of tonight’s main event in Las Vegas.
‘This is always history, every damn time,’ he says. ‘The gates keep rising, the pay-per-view keeps rising, the attendance; everything keeps rising. It’s always history when I step inside that Octagon.’
What has certainly risen in recent weeks is McGregor’s weight.
Already free of the burden of reducing his body to a skeleton by moving up a division to face Dos Anjos at 155lb, he has now bulked up to 170lb after agreeing to meet Diaz at welterweight.
Indeed, perhaps the biggest decision he has had to make this week is what to eat for breakfast.
‘It’s certainly been enjoyable,’ he says. ‘It’s different to wake up and have a choice of food and be able to eat out. I’m almost living a normal life.’
And as his coach John Kavanagh quips: ‘You’ve seen him on salads, watch what happens when he’s on steaks.’
Such is McGregor’s insatiable appetite, the suggestion he sideline himself this evening to wait for Dos Anjos to recover was never raised.
Of his eight scheduled fights since his UFC debut in 2013, four have been against re p l a c e ment opponents.
In Diaz he faces a man regularly recruited as a sparring partner for former boxing world champion Andre Ward and whose acclaimed jiu-jitsu could see his opponent’s hitherto untested ground game given a serious examination.
‘Every single fight I’ve taken a risk and I’ll continue to do so,’ McGregor says. ‘The fans pay their hardearned money but people pull out of fights and the other opponent scraps the whole card, only thinking of themselves while they sit in their comfortable homes.
‘I love to fight; this man, let’s see if he can fight. He’s talked a lot; there’s been subtle digs over the years but now as the fight comes closer, he’s like a scared little boy.’
McGregor will not be backed by quite the support which followed him to Las Vegas just before Christmas with tickets still available for the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Nevertheless, several hundred fans waited patiently to catch a glimpse of him at an open workout earlier in the week.
More than an hour late, McGregor trained for half an hour — as long as the three preceding fighters combined — before defying security to sign a sea of flags and posters while posing for photographs.
His faithful’s admiration is shared by none other than Steve Collins who recently proclaimed his countryman to be the greatest fighter Ireland has produced.
In response, McGregor says: ‘To hear something like that, I’m very flattered. I continue to get better and continue to show my countrymen different ways to fight.
‘Before me there was boxing, there were certain types of movements but now people are opening their mind and I’m very, very proud of that. That’s a great honour.
‘Am I the greatest fighter? I think so, and I’m only getting better.’
McGregor also acknowledged the voter who scribbled his name on their General Election ballot paper but stopped short of committing to a career in politics.
But should he treat Diaz with the same disdain as his previous seven opponents, McGregor, who has predicted a first-round finish, will find himself faced with a plethora of possibilities. Barring injury he is certain to headline the flagship UFC 200 show at the new 20,000seater T-Mobile Arena in July.
A return to featherweight to face Frankie Edgar, a rescheduled bout with Dos Anjos or a tilt at Robbie Lawler’s welterweight title will all be considered in the aftermath of an eighth successive victory.
‘I’m seriously considering making my own damn belt and then I’ll decide what weight the fight is at,’ he says. ‘Why not? Who cares about the belts. [I’m] the money fight. This is the fight everyone wants.’
Everyone, including McGregor himself.