For someone as hugely popular as Conor
McGregor, it’s almost unfathomable that his destruction of
Donald
Cerrone on Saturday night was his first win in over three
years.
McGregor (22-4) last had his hand raised inside the Octagon at UFC
205 in November 2016, where he tore up Eddie
Alvarez to capture the lightweight title. However, “Notorious”
battled Floyd
Mayweather Jr. in what many considered a spectacle of a boxing
match in August 2017 and then lost via neck crank to rival Khabib
Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. Aside from social
media posts and various scandals, the polarizing Irish superstar
has been largely missing in action.
Rumors surrounded McGregor that he was struggling financially, had
substance abuse issues and marital problems, and when the Dublin
native was ensnared in two sexual assault allegation charges and
filmed sucker-punching an old man inside an Irish bar, things
appeared to be falling apart. While McGregor didn’t acknowledge any
of that after his 40-second drubbing of Cerrone (36-14, 1 NC), he
did admit that he was going through hard times and treated those
around him like dirt.
“I wasn’t committed,” McGregor said at the UFC 246 post-fight
conference. “I have this team behind me who leave their families to
be with me, but I’m not there. I’d be gone for three days and then
show up. I disrespected all those who were with me and believed in
me. I had to reset that and that’s where I’m at.
“I achieved it all,” he added while explaining why he had changed.
“I broke the game before I was 30 years of age. It’s like one belt
wasn’t even enough anymore. The money, the fame, the belts… what
then to motivate me? I came back to it for the love, just like how
I got into in the first place.”
McGregor’s attitude was much more subdued this time around. There
weren’t any riots after the match, no hand trucks thrown into a bus
full of fighters, no loud and obnoxious press conference shouting
matches. McGregor seemed for serious and focused, more… mature.
“It was good to get back out there and get that feel again,” he
said. “I feel amazing, there’s still work to be done, but this is a
great first step. I did great work this camp, I pushed myself so
hard I had to hold myself back sometimes. I’m excited about the
future. I’m not going to dwell on this victory, it’s back in the
gym and back to work. Who is next doesn’t matter. The when is more
interesting. The whole world lights up when I fight, so I want to
get back out there again.”
With him being much more focused, especially with someone as
experienced and dangerous as “Cowboy,” McGregor proved why is the
biggest star the sport of MMA has ever seen thus far. “Notorious”
missed a massive left hand to start the fight, but when he and
Cerrone clinched, McGregor added a new wrinkle to his game that
caught the fan favorite off-guard. McGregor slammed his left
shoulder into Cerrone’s face repeatedly before dropping him with a
left head kick and then effectively stopping him with follow-up
punches.
“That shoulder shot is a good shot, I wonder what all those
so-called experts are going to say now, ‘He’s only a left
shoulder!’ Absolute lack of respect and true knowledge of the sport
from some of these people. It wasn’t specifically part of the game
plan; I was ready to utilize all of my weapons, including
wrestling, including grappling. I was ready to showcase all of my
skills.”
Everything lasted just 40 seconds and after McGregor praised
Cerrone afterward, his target shifted toward the future. With a
plethora of elite fighters all lining up to fight him, McGregor has
seemingly endless possibilities, whether it be Nurmagomedov,
Tony
Ferguson, Jorge
Masvidal or Kamaru
Usman.
McGregor said to “line them all up” but didn’t call out anybody in
particular. He mocked Masvidal’s BMF belt and attire he wore on
Saturday, ridiculed Usman’s management and said he would love to
fight Nurmagomedov again. But, he said, he really wants to headline
a UFC event in a stadium, whether it’s in Ireland or at the new Las
Vegas Raiders stadium that is still under construction.
“If there’s a stadium show in Europe, it’s happening in Ireland.
It’s not going to be in the U.K. I love the U.K. but a stadium show
will be in Ireland. The Allegiant Stadium (Raiders) looks amazing
and I would love to the first one to headline a show there.”
It wouldn’t be a McGregor presser without Mayweather questions, as
“Money” posted a faux fight poster trying to hype up a potential
rematch of what was the second-highest grossing pay-per-view in
history.
“Floyd’s a funny man,” he laughed. “If you know Floyd, he goes
through money fast so he’s never far from un-retiring.”
