Conor McGregor: Much To Admire

Of late I have been super critical of Conor McGregor, and anyone reading those articles would assume I am not a fan of his.

I have expressed my opinion about his failure to defend any of his UFC titles, surely a requisite of being a champion.

The disgraceful scenes in Brooklyn couldn’t be defended and he quite rightly got widely criticised for his behaviour. Loyal to his team, yes, but his actions were out of proportion and criminal.

Sometimes you just have to offer an honest critique of people even if you are a fan of that person, and in regards to McGregor, I most definitely am a fan.

Despite the obvious negatives there is much to admire about McGregor, he was the first fighter to truly understand the importance of self-promotion and the advantages of social media, he ‘got it’ before anyone else.

McGregor, when he lost to Diaz, insisted on meeting Diaz again on exactly the same terms as the first fight. Many including me thought he had made a big mistake in doing this, specifically fighting Diaz at welterweight where he was clearly at a disadvantage, McGregor wanted the win back exactly how he lost it.

We have been given some very special memories thanks to McGregor, the Dublin card, Mendes, that sensational win over Aldo, the Diaz return was one of the greatest fights I have ever seen and of course, the Alvarez win.

As McGregor hits 30 I already feel we have lost some of his peak time, it could even be he is even already on the slide. The ego-driven Mayweather circus and the subsequent absence since will end up costing McGregor 2 years of his best years inside a cage, time he may never get back. Mixed Martial Arts is a sport that is still evolving and at some speed and the sport will wait for no man, even someone as talented as McGregor.

But hopefully there is still time to cement his legacy further, McGregor is expected to return to action towards the end of the year against Khabib Nurmagomedov in potentially the biggest fight in UFC history. Khabib was always going to be a super tough match-up for McGregor even more so when you consider his long layoff, we haven’t seen him inside the octagon since he beat Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

The end for McGregor is definitely coming in terms of his MMA career. I think if we get two more fights out of McGregor after Khabib, GSP or Nate Diaz again potentially, we will have done well. I say enjoy him while he is here and despite all the controversy around him McGregor has given us one hell of a ride and we are unlikely to see anyone on his scale anytime soon.