An Agitated Conor McGregor is the Most Dangerous Conor McGregor
An Agitated Conor McGregor is the Most Dangerous Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is obviously incited by the behavior of Nate Diaz and his camp, but Peter Carroll believes that's a good thing.
By Peter Carroll
The difference between Conor McGregor this week and the way he presented himself at UFC 196 are notably different.
The big smile that he wore on top of the scales before his first meeting with Nate Diaz was unique for ‘The Notorious’. Throughout his entire career, the Dubliner has been known for using the final face off as a means to get into his opponents’ head. As the old story goes, ahead of his first title fight for Cage Warriors, McGregor apparently made his opponent Dave Hill cry, such was the intensity of the moment.
While he appeared to be going through the motions at March’s weigh-in, we are nearly guaranteed to see a more aggressive McGregor at tonight’s weigh-in after the madness of Wednesday’s press conference.
Some questioned whether the near-melee on Wednesday between the rival teams was a publicity stunt, but it was clear how agitated McGregor was based on the UFC’s Embedded release that gave us an insight into what happened behind the scenes.
McGregor was absolutely incensed by Diaz’s exit. The first words out of his mouth questioned why he wouldn’t face off, criticizing his lack of knowledge on selling a fight. The footage also showed how furious the Irishman was with Dana White calling a halt to the event after several missiles were thrown.
One of the main indicators as to how angry McGregor was is how he slipped back into a thick, Dublin brogue in the heat of the moment.
“Let’s keep it going, the little fool!” he remarked backstage. “Why do we have to get out of here? We could’ve just faced off and kept it going. Why did he storm out?” he begged of White.
“I’m gonna kill your man, seriously. I’m gonna bleedin’ burst your man,” he said as he left the building.
There was no doubt about how he felt when he showed up for the open workouts at the Red Rock Casino yesterday.
Before he was even asked a question, McGregor let his feelings be known: "“F**k the Diaz brothers,” he roared from the Rock Lounge.
He continued: “Listen, that fairy-tale he’s after having is coming to an end. Those little fans giving him this invincible feeling that he can’t be knocked out...he can be knocked out and he will be knocked out.
“Like I said, f**k team Diaz and if you're down with team Diaz, f**k you too.”
Throughout his whole career, McGregor has always defied the odds.
Scaling the UFC ranks to win the featherweight title in just two and half years from the seemingly unbeatable Jose Aldo underlined his exceptional ability to promote and back up his sentiments.
According to his striking coach, Owen Roddy, everything appeared to be too easy for McGregor, which led to the wake-up call that came in the shape of his first UFC loss to Nate Diaz.
“If you’re knocking people out at will like he was, it’s very hard to get motivated,” he explained last week on the Talking Brawls MMA Podcast. “When you’re going through the competition so easily, it’s going to make you lose the motivation slightly.
“The fact that he has lost to Diaz is pushing him a lot more. He’s digging a lot deeper in every training session and he’s pushing himself to levels that I don’t think he ever has before. I definitely think we’re going to see his hard work pay off on Saturday night.”
McGregor took the hard road by taking an immediate rematch with Diaz, and now, with the two looking like they could pop off at any minute, the SBG fighter will feel the sizable pressure that has been put on his shoulders during the build up.
UFC are clearly expecting some fireworks from tonight’s final face off at the public weigh-ins. The promotion has banned both SBG and Cesar Gracie teammates from being present at the event due to their behavior at the press conference, but McGregor will finally have his chance to get nose to nose with Diaz again, having so sorely missed the opportunity to do so on Wednesday after his foe stormed out of the press conference.
Let’s just hope Dana White has been keeping up his work in the weight room, because he will certainly have to step in between the two to stop them engaging each other before the first bell rings in the T-Mobile Arena.
The difference between Conor McGregor this week and the way he presented himself at UFC 196 are notably different.
The big smile that he wore on top of the scales before his first meeting with Nate Diaz was unique for ‘The Notorious’. Throughout his entire career, the Dubliner has been known for using the final face off as a means to get into his opponents’ head. As the old story goes, ahead of his first title fight for Cage Warriors, McGregor apparently made his opponent Dave Hill cry, such was the intensity of the moment.
While he appeared to be going through the motions at March’s weigh-in, we are nearly guaranteed to see a more aggressive McGregor at tonight’s weigh-in after the madness of Wednesday’s press conference.
Agitated
Some questioned whether the near-melee on Wednesday between the rival teams was a publicity stunt, but it was clear how agitated McGregor was based on the UFC’s Embedded release that gave us an insight into what happened behind the scenes.
McGregor was absolutely incensed by Diaz’s exit. The first words out of his mouth questioned why he wouldn’t face off, criticizing his lack of knowledge on selling a fight. The footage also showed how furious the Irishman was with Dana White calling a halt to the event after several missiles were thrown.
One of the main indicators as to how angry McGregor was is how he slipped back into a thick, Dublin brogue in the heat of the moment.
“Let’s keep it going, the little fool!” he remarked backstage. “Why do we have to get out of here? We could’ve just faced off and kept it going. Why did he storm out?” he begged of White.
“I’m gonna kill your man, seriously. I’m gonna bleedin’ burst your man,” he said as he left the building.
There was no doubt about how he felt when he showed up for the open workouts at the Red Rock Casino yesterday.
Before he was even asked a question, McGregor let his feelings be known: "“F**k the Diaz brothers,” he roared from the Rock Lounge.
He continued: “Listen, that fairy-tale he’s after having is coming to an end. Those little fans giving him this invincible feeling that he can’t be knocked out...he can be knocked out and he will be knocked out.
“Like I said, f**k team Diaz and if you're down with team Diaz, f**k you too.”
Thriving in the Uncomfortable
Throughout his whole career, McGregor has always defied the odds.
Scaling the UFC ranks to win the featherweight title in just two and half years from the seemingly unbeatable Jose Aldo underlined his exceptional ability to promote and back up his sentiments.
According to his striking coach, Owen Roddy, everything appeared to be too easy for McGregor, which led to the wake-up call that came in the shape of his first UFC loss to Nate Diaz.
“If you’re knocking people out at will like he was, it’s very hard to get motivated,” he explained last week on the Talking Brawls MMA Podcast. “When you’re going through the competition so easily, it’s going to make you lose the motivation slightly.
“The fact that he has lost to Diaz is pushing him a lot more. He’s digging a lot deeper in every training session and he’s pushing himself to levels that I don’t think he ever has before. I definitely think we’re going to see his hard work pay off on Saturday night.”
McGregor took the hard road by taking an immediate rematch with Diaz, and now, with the two looking like they could pop off at any minute, the SBG fighter will feel the sizable pressure that has been put on his shoulders during the build up.
UFC are clearly expecting some fireworks from tonight’s final face off at the public weigh-ins. The promotion has banned both SBG and Cesar Gracie teammates from being present at the event due to their behavior at the press conference, but McGregor will finally have his chance to get nose to nose with Diaz again, having so sorely missed the opportunity to do so on Wednesday after his foe stormed out of the press conference.
Let’s just hope Dana White has been keeping up his work in the weight room, because he will certainly have to step in between the two to stop them engaging each other before the first bell rings in the T-Mobile Arena.