O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the world's iconic thruways. Reborn in the late 1990s, it's a beautiful testament to Ireland itself, celebrating the past while also looking forward to a promising future.
Lining the street are statues, representing great Irishmen from years gone by. Most people look at these great men and reminisce, recalling the Eire's many contributions to the world.
But Conor McGregor is not "most people." The budding UFC star, who headlines the UFC's card on Fox Sports 1 Sunday against Dennis Siver, walks O'Connell Street, the signature pedestrian area of his hometown, and sees not just forgotten icons and the dust of history—he sees opportunity.
"I look at that and now I want a statue," he told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "Now I can't wait to get my own statue up there...we will bring Jose Aldo over to Dublin, we will fill out a 90,000-seat football stadium in Croke Park.
"Croke Park is also a stadium we fought for our independence in. The British invaded the pitch in a tank and opened fire on the players and the fans. So it is a place that has seen blood and seen battle as well. So we will bring Jose Aldo over...and we will do battle once more. And I believe I will raise that belt in my home country. And I will demand a statue post-fight."
While that may reek of delusional grandeur, McGregor is not alone in seeing a very bright future for himself. Suffice to say, the UFC is plenty excited about its new star, elevating him from the prelims to the main event in record time. He has an easy charisma and a gift for trash talk unsurpassed in MMA history.
It's hard to compare him to anyone, because there is no prologue. The closest you can come is Chael Sonnen, but a version of Chael without the ironic detachment. Sonnen was performing, removed ever so slightly from his sometimes buffoonish material. He winked at his audience, letting us all know he was okay with the fact we were in on the act.
McGregor has the same gilded tongue, but his bravado is rooted in authenticity. When Sonnen was telling the world that he'd never lost a round, despite 14 career losses, it was understood he was putting us on. When McGregor says he's the best fighter in the world, you get the sense that he really believes it.
"It's more truth-talking," McGregor explained. "I don't speak trash. I speak truth. Occasionally I might throw in a little insult here or there, but this is the Irish way. I speak the truth. If I feel something is the way it is, I will say it. I will let it be known. Some people can't handle the truth. That's not my problem."
That's a subtle distinction—but an important one."There's not really a disrespectful undertone to it," Fox Sports 1 announcer Jon Anik said. "It is refreshing that someone can speak the truth. Even though there is some ego and some arrogance, I really think he's speaking from the heart."
It goes a long way towards explaining why the UFC, normally an exceedingly cautious promotion, has put its collective pedal to the metal. President Dana White calls him the biggest star the promotion has ever seen, outpacing Georges St-Pierre, Chuck Liddell and even Brock Lesnar. UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta, not usually as prone to hyperbole, compared the young Irishman to Muhammad Ali. "I was on an Irish talk show, and the presenter compared me to Muhammad Ali. I could not take something like that. He is up there. He is a god. He done what he done in a hostile time. For someone to consider that, because I certainly would not consider that, that is an honor to me," McGregor said. "... He changed the face, not only of this game, but the face of the world. He was outspoken. He fought for what he believed in. He was a legend and a hero. I look up to him...he was a hero of mine, the way he carried himself."
McGregor, being McGregor, has an Ali story of his own, one that started with the kind of street fight that defined his youth.
"I slipped a punch. And I shuffled my shoulders and said 'Muhammad Ali.' And threw a shot," McGregor remembered, recalling the fight as vividly as any of his professional prize fights. "I done the Ali shuffle! I'm only 11 years old and did the Ali shuffle and threw a left hook."
It was a tale that began in glory and ended with McGregor being stomped by five of his opponents friends. But he tells it with a smile. He seems to do most things that way.
Whether he's ready or not, McGregor is here. No longer the future of the sport, at 26, he's the present. He's one of five fighters signed to an individual deal with Reebok, a sign of where he stands as well as the heights UFC hopes he's able to climb.So far, McGregor has had all the answers. Against a middling crop of UFC featherweights, he's looked like the kind of fighter who warrants the outlandish praise. But what happens when they are posed by a higher caliber of foe?
We've seen him venture into the Top 10 once, and make short work of Dustin Poirier. Anik, for his part, is confident that the man who has all the answers in the media will have them in the cage against Siver as well.
"We know he has great mic skills. We know he has great self-belief. But I think a lot of people wonder if he's also an elite fighter. I think he is," Anik said. "He's on the brink of superstardom. I'm a believer. I have been since early on. He thrives under pressure—and there's going to be a whole batch of it Sunday night."
Conor McGregor fights Dennis Siver in the main event Sunday at the TD Arena in Boston. The main card begins at 10 P.M. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Jonathan Snowden is Bleacher Report's Lead Combat Sports Writer. All quotes were acquired first hand. Special thanks to Duane Finley and Pete Tenney for additional reportage.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2332978-ufc-fight-night-irishman-conor-mcgregor-is-dreaming-big-in-boston
No comments:
Post a Comment