Whatever Conor McGregor is today, he is because of UFC. UFC nurtured the meagre seedling bit by bit into a full grown beanstalk. The beanstalk has risen up to the clouds and UFC seems unable to have its top view.
As the biggest fight in the history of the promotion that would be aired as part of UFC 229 pay-per-view headliner event is nearing, the Notorious is toiling exceptionally hard to look in the face of the Judo’s black belt owner and undefeated MMA artist Khabib Nurmagomedov, a frightening test the Irishman has not so far taken.
Mystic Mac is a unique combination of knack and near the knuckles, and perhaps that is what sets him apart from his fellow fighters in UFC. However, one thing is apparent about the Irishman. Despite the controversies that engulf his persona, his desire to rule UFC’s throne stands above all his feats and features.
His unquenched desire to rule has brought him here, a road everyone is not willing to tread on. And he is not ready to give up his fight until he wins back his long-lost accolade – be it through dexterity or notoriety. And this is precisely why Mystic Mac has zoned into his comfort zone, bidding farewell to everything and everyone except his mammoth yearning to embrace triumph one more time.
But UFC doesn’t like being left out.
This is what Dave Meltzer’s newsletter had to say about McGregor temporarily turning off UFC’s lights.
“One of the reasons you haven’t seen much in the way of interviews and such is that McGregor has not agreed to do anything. There are no press conferences scheduled because McGregor at this point hasn’t agreed to them. There is a lot of frustration within the UFC about McGregor’s attitude, but in the end, he’s got the leverage and the ticket sales and secondary market results only give him more leverage.”
“The feeling is that this may be the biggest non-boxing PPV of all-time, and the only reason it wouldn’t be is that McGregor hasn’t been pushing it hard. McGregor was able to get a larger piece of the action for this fight than any of his UFC fights to date, so there is a direct correlation more than ever between his work in promoting the fight and his pocket book, but this may also show that he knows he’s in a real fight and doesn’t want to break training.”
Though the Irishman is quite fond of pumping iron at the gym for long hours, it’s just a single composite of MMA fight training. Ideally, a session that would break some sweat for a bout within the cage would comprise of many other features including game planning and weight cutting along with prolonged gym routines.
McGregor’s upcoming fight would dust off his apparent cage rust that lasted for about two years; however, in order to be at par with the level of his adversary who can last up to 10 rounds easily, he definitely needs to consider adopting a more well-defined approach. While the Irishman is known for his fiery nature, he needs to ignite his motivation too.
Right now, the biggest jittery that the media faces is the outcome of the fight. Whether the Notorious is able to quench his thirst to rule the octagon or not still remains a mystery, one thing is clear that we won’t be seeing him anytime soon until the fight nears. Whether UFC likes it or not.
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