Official Conor McGregor thread (part 2). **Read warning in 1st post**

slicus ricus

Cathy.C wrote: »

Absolutely. He said similar in the ESPN interview also but they didn't air it and so many would not be aware that he did so. They wrote about it though in this ESPN article where they noted he was still, understandably, reluctant to speak about it, perhaps why they didn't include it in the aired portion.

I also thought it was quite decent of him to concede that he didn't perhaps communicate too well to the UFC regarding the real reasons why him and his team had wanted a little more time back then. Personally I thought that was obvious from watching events tbh as no comment from them seemed to refer to him or his camp having things to deal with. It was pretty much all remarks saying he wasn't coming because he didn't want to come, end of story. But like I say, it's nice to see him take some of the blame for that lack of communication.

I remember reading this at the time that this was the real reason, very much a rumour at that stage but obviously now confirmed by the man himself. Also in the same report, it was said that Conor didn't want to publicise this as the reason because he didn't want to attract any more negative reaction to the sport than it was already getting. From what I recall, regulation of MMA in Ireland by the Sports Council of Ireland followed soon after this period which has been high on the wishlist of everyone in Irish MMA for a long time - perhaps Conor didn't want to jeopardise the possibility of this.

Cathy.C

slicus ricus wrote: »

I remember reading this at the time that this was the real reason, very much a rumour at that stage but obviously now confirmed by the man himself. Also in the same report, it was said that Conor didn't want to publicise this as the reason because he didn't want to attract any more negative reaction to the sport than it was already getting. From what I recall, regulation of MMA in Ireland by the Sports Council of Ireland followed soon after this period which has been high on the wishlist of everyone in Irish MMA for a long time - perhaps Conor didn't want to jeopardise the possibility of this.

For sure and in his interview after the fight it was clear that that was where his mind was at the time: regulation, safety etc. Although he didn't admit it when prompted, he had to have felt some pride in the fact that the sport was slowly being taken more and more seriously in no small thanks to his success. Then within days you had Prime Time and Joe Duffy's sanctimonious waffle filling the airwaves undermining the hard work of those involved. Duffy in particular was sickening to hear. At one stage he plays a clip of the interview linked to and starts mocking the interviewer saying 'Awesome' and trying to imply she was referring to how injured Joao was. Despicable man.

JinkyJackson

slicus ricus wrote:

I thought so as well. I presume you are talking about the part where he spoke about wanting to be with his team mates in the aftermath of the death of Joao Carvalho and how witnessing that event affected him at that time, particularly given that a team mate and close friend was involved. Certainly an admirable and very human response to such tragic events.

He should have just come out with that in the first place then. Just tell everyone he's not in the right frame of mind to go to Vegas for the presser. Instead he made a big song and dance about it.

In my opinion, I think something more sinister went on, and he was never suppose to fight at 200 in the first place.

Depp

JinkyJackson wrote: »

He should have just come out with that in the first place then. Just tell everyone he's not in the right frame of mind to go to Vegas for the presser. Instead he made a big song and dance about it.

In my opinion, I think something more sinister went on, and he was never suppose to fight at 200 in the first place.

zpehtsfd

Does this really look like a man who had "things" on his mind barely 6 days after the tragic death of Joao Carvalho?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/mma/watch-up-the-dubs-conor-mcgregor-and-the-cork-footballers-have-a-little-singoff-in-the-airport-34635235.html

And then 2 days later the famous "retire" tweet happens. I'd sadly say the only thing on his mind was the mighty $$ but keep telling yourself otherwise and paint him in an admirable way. :rolleyes:

Gamebred

zpehtsfd wrote: »

Does this really look like a man who had "things" on his mind barely 6 days after the tragic death of Joao Carvalho?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/mma/watch-up-the-dubs-conor-mcgregor-and-the-cork-footballers-have-a-little-singoff-in-the-airport-34635235.html

And then 2 days later the famous "retire" tweet happens. I'd sadly say the only thing on his mind was the mighty $$ but keep telling yourself otherwise and paint him in an admirable way. :rolleyes:

PMSL a 45 second video and you can analyze his train of thought at the time on fighting hahahahaha

zpehtsfd

Gamebred wrote: »

PMSL a 45 second video and you can analyze his train of thought at the time on fighting hahahahaha

Actually my wife's friend was on the same flight back from Portugal and let's just say he wasn't exactly in mourning. Ah sure he was probably just putting on a brave face for everyone. :pac:

slicus ricus

JinkyJackson wrote: »

He should have just come out with that in the first place then. Just tell everyone he's not in the right frame of mind to go to Vegas for the presser. Instead he made a big song and dance about it.

Maybe he should have come out and said it in the first place. Apparently the reason he didn't was to avoid giving worldwide attention to the fact that a fighter died as a direct result of a fight at an Irish MMA event. Seems fair enough to me given the fact his twitter posts regarding UFC 200 got worldwide attention & practically broke the Internet!

JinkyJackson wrote: »

In my opinion, I think something more sinister went on, and he was never suppose to fight at 200 in the first place.

I find it hard to understand how you came to that conclusion. As in, what evidence is there that points to that being the case?

zpehtsfd wrote:

Does this really look like a man who had "things" on his mind barely 6 days after the tragic death of Joao Carvalho?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/mma/...-34635235.html

Noone is suggesting he was suffering from serious depression or anything and that he would have been unable to have the craic at the time. What is being said is that he was affected by Carvalho's death and wanted to be with his team mates rather than on stage promoting a fight.

zpehtsfd wrote:

And then 2 days later the famous "retire" tweet happens. I'd sadly say the only thing on his mind was the mighty $$ but keep telling yourself otherwise and paint him in an admirable way.

I somehow doubt it was about money, sure he's earning the same amount of money at 202, just a month later! Even if he retired and went on to do something else, he would still have huge earning potential. The lad is set for life!

Depp

zpehtsfd wrote: »

Actually my wife's friend was on the same flight back from Portugal and let's just say he wasn't exactly in mourning. Ah sure he was probably just putting on a brave face for everyone. :pac:

yeah well my cousins bestfriends wifes friends cousin was on the flight too and said the exact opposite :rolleyes:

Gamebred

Who cares lads your debating history here **** it.

darced

This post has been deleted.

sonofenoch

Am I right in saying that's Edgar out of the McGregor equation......he's lost twice now to a man beaten in 13 secs.......he misses out on the big payday


McGregor only has 1 fight left at 145

Paully D

sonofenoch wrote: »

Am I right in saying that's Edgar out of the McGregor equation......he's lost twice now to a man beaten in 13 secs.......he misses out on the big payday

McGregor only has 1 fight left at 145

Yep, Frankie blew the opportunity. It'll be McGregor v Aldo 2 at UFC 206 or 207 towards the end of the year. If Frankie had won, they'd probably have had it headlining New York.

newballsplease

Is Mcgregor not going to find it extremely hard to get back down to 145 ?

JustTheOne

newballsplease wrote: »

Is Mcgregor not going to find it extremely hard to get back down to 145 ?

For the money he will get I'm sure he will find a way.

Mellor

newballsplease wrote: »

Is Mcgregor not going to find it extremely hard to get back down to 145 ?

I don't think he's put on much muscle mass since December. We'll see what he weighs in at next month.

StringerBell

I think that even though the cut is absolutely brutal for him, that since he has never missed weight with it you have to give him the benefit of the doubt. You cannot question the mans drive and I would not bet against him making the weight.

.ak

There was talk of him walking around at 170 before some of his 145 fights, whilst that may not have been as much lean mass as he's got on now I doubt he'll have too many problems getting back down to it... He's had a great team around nutritional support and has always approached it in a very scientific way. He said the bulking up let him down last time, it was one of the times when he didn't follow the advise as strictly funnily enough.

I think if he does cut back to 145 I think that may be the last straw and he'll start competing at 155.

Cathy.C

.ak wrote: »

I think if he does cut back to 145 I think that may be the last straw and he'll start competing at 155.

Totally agree.

Clearly it's not something that is easy for him and so why even bother given that he has more options open to him compared to before (and particularly so if he goes on to beat Nate). With denser muscles now that cut is bound to be tougher than it ever has been before also and so I see him only bothering to make the 145 cut one more time and that, imo, will be to fight Jose @ MSG. Be an excellent stage for him to fight his last featherweight fight on and a nice cherry on the top for him to be sending Jose off to pasture as he does so.

From then on I'd say he'll just focus on the 155 division. I see Alvarez is calling him out in interviews the past few days (talking nonsense about him avoiding RDA as he did so) and so that fight could well be on the cards for 2017.

Mellor

Cathy.C wrote: »

...so why even bother given that he has more options open to him

Why bother?
Because he has dedicated his life to becoming a UFC champion. Something he realized after years of blood sweat and tears. I'm not a world champion, I I would imagine that something like that is not something that you just walk away from. Particular for someone like Conor.

With denser muscles now that cut is bound to be tougher than it ever has been before

Muscles can't change density. They can be bigger or smaller, but the physical density is pretty uniform. It's just one of those BS terms like "toning a muscle", they people waffle on about to try sell something.

whether he can make 145 is purely a question of weight. He's made the cut multiple times, the last few when he was biggest. He knows where he needs to cut from. And how to get to there.

Cathy.C

Mellor wrote: »

Muscles can't change density. They can be bigger or smaller, but the physical density is pretty uniform. It's just one of those BS terms like "toning a muscle", they people waffle on about to try sell something. whether he can make 145 is purely a question of weight.

Muscle tone, definition, mass, whatever, it is clear to everyone that Conor is more muscular now than he ever has been before. Here's a comment from George Lockhart (who helped him make the weight cuts somewhat easier than they had been previously) where he says:

Conor is still growing naturally and physiologically, he’s still advancing and his muscles and becoming denser. ”

Why bother?
Because he has dedicated his life to becoming a UFC champion. Something he realized after years of blood sweat and tears. I'm not a world champion, I I would imagine that something like that is not something that you just walk away from. Particular for someone like Conor.

lol. Love how I am being lectured on how hard Conor has worked to get where he is. Makes a change :P

Why bother? Well 1) He holds the belt already and if RDA hadn't pulled out he would have won the 155 belt and achieved his goal of holding the same two belts at UFC which he had held at Cage Warriors. Had that happened I don't think he would ever have fought at 145 again, personally. With events going the way they did though, I don't see him getting the chance to fight for the 155 belt until he defends the 145 belt and so that is why I only see him making that cut one more time, as a means to an end (most likely against Aldo @ MSG - barring injury/suspension) " 2) Most importantly, making the cut for '45 clearly takes a huge toll on him which while once was very much worth it, now it isn't anywhere near as much giving he is now older and has other options. Even just from a visual perspective it's quite obvious that it's arduous given how he looks and I am not just talking about cut for the Siver fight:




As even during his cut in December, which was heralded as his easist '45 cut, he looked extremely gaunt.

whether he can make 145 is purely a question of weight. He's made the cut multiple times, the last few when he was biggest. He knows where he needs to cut from. And how to get to there.

Just merely saying what amounts to 'He does it, he manages it and so what's the issue?' misses the point. We know he has done it. We know he knows how to do it. The point is that it is very taxing on him and there is only so much of that the body can take. You don't need to rely on visuals for proof of how hard it is for him either as it's well documented that it is not a cut he finds easy as those closest to him have made that patently clear. JK said to Dana White: "I don’t want him making that weight again; it’s not good for him" and Gunnar said the following:

“He does a big cut, and he doesn’t like it. I don’t think he’s going to do it that much longer. I think he’s going to move up. I think he wants to move up and I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t be able to do this cut too many times. It definitely takes it out of you, there’s no doubt. He has a lot of energy and he’ll tough through it and fight really well, even though he does this cut, but I just think, looking ahead, that this is not good for your health. I don’t think he should do it many more times and I’ve told him that. That’s my opinion.”

Mellor

Cathy.C wrote: »

Muscle tone, definition, mass, whatever

Again tone and definition isn't something that makes it harder to cut weight. They aren't real. For want of a better work.
I don't think he has added as much muscle as people suggest. The photos above are comparing a dehydrated and glycogen depleted Conor with a full watered and fed Conor. Not comparable.
We'll see how he looks in August, but I don't expect my opinion will change. He has added some muscle, not so much that he can't get back to a weight can cut from?

Why bother? Well 1) He holds the belt already....

You asked "why bother". I was giving you the reason why I he's makes the cut again. I wasn't suggesting he stays at 145 forever.
I was saying he won't leave the belt behind until he has a new belt on the wall, imo (if possible of course)

Cathy.C wrote: »

Clearly it's not something that is easy for him and so why even bother

Just merely saying what amounts to 'He does it, he manages it and so what's the issue?' misses the point. We know he has done it. We know he knows how to do it. The point is that it is very taxing on him and there is only so much of that the body can take.

That's not what my post was amounting to.
I think you are the one missing my point if that's what you took from it.

As his career progressed the cuts got harder. Not because there's only so much the body can take, but because he made them harder by putting on muscle.
Sometimes he was probably 160, sometimes closer to 170. He knows which cuts are manageable, and which pushed it too far and had him doing the strung-out shuffle. The extremely hard cuts are something he created. If he is going back to defend he should focus on 145 and do it properly. Then look at 155. Trying to straddle both divisions will result in him not performing in either imo.

Gamebred

Cathy.C wrote: »

Muscle tone, definition, mass, whatever, it is clear to everyone that Conor is more muscular now than he ever has been before. Here's a comment from George Lockhart (who helped him make the weight cuts somewhat easier than they had been previously) where he says:






lol. Love how I am being lectured on how hard Conor has worked to get where he is. Makes a change :P

Why bother? Well 1) He holds the belt already and if RDA hadn't pulled out he would have won the 155 belt and achieved his goal of holding the same two belts at UFC which he had held at Cage Warriors. Had that happened I don't think he would ever have fought at 145 again, personally. With events going the way they did though, I don't see him getting the chance to fight for the 155 belt until he defends the 145 belt and so that is why I only see him making that cut one more time, as a means to an end (most likely against Aldo @ MSG - barring injury/suspension) " 2) Most importantly, making the cut for '45 clearly takes a huge toll on him which while once was very much worth it, now it isn't anywhere near as much giving he is now older and has other options. Even just from a visual perspective it's quite obvious that it's arduous given how he looks and I am not just talking about cut for the Siver fight:




As even during his cut in December, which was heralded as his easist '45 cut, he looked extremely gaunt.








Just merely saying what amounts to 'He does it, he manages it and so what's the issue?' misses the point. We know he has done it. We know he knows how to do it. The point is that it is very taxing on him and there is only so much of that the body can take. You don't need to rely on visuals for proof of how hard it is for him either as it's well documented that it is not a cut he finds easy as those closest to him have made that patently clear. JK said to Dana White: "I don’t want him making that weight again; it’s not good for him" and Gunnar said the following:

Useful.Idiot

Paully D wrote: »

Yep, Frankie blew the opportunity. It'll be McGregor v Aldo 2 at UFC 206 or 207 towards the end of the year. If Frankie had won, they'd probably have had it headlining New York.

Why wouldn't they have this fight in New York at 205? That seems to be what both fighters want.

darced

This post has been deleted.

Depp

darced wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

yeah its a bit soon especially if its a drop to 45, no point rushing the camp and comin in half cocked just to get on the msg card

sonofenoch

If McGregor beats Diaz I could see him take on Alvarez in late Dec for the lightweight belt (a fight he'd have more than a good chance in) .....he'd then be the double weight belt holder he wants (and probably relinquish the 145 belt) soon after........that might seem unfair on Aldo perhaps but it's cards McGregor holds

obviously if he loses again he'll defend the 145 and Diaz will probably get a shot at the 155

Depp

sonofenoch wrote: »

If McGregor beats Diaz I could see him take on Alvarez in late Dec for the lightweight belt (a fight he'd have more than a good chance in) .....he'd then be the double weight belt holder he wants (and probably relinquish the 145 belt) soon after........that might seem unfair on Aldo perhaps but it's cards McGregor holds

obviously if he loses again he'll defend the 145 and Diaz will probably get a shot at the 155

yeah wouldnt be a bad transition fight to have in between 70 and 40, like his chances against alvarez can see it going similar to the mendez fight, would be an easy fight to sell aswel alvarez talks an awful lot of sh!t about conor despite never having been linked with him

jmx009

sonofenoch wrote: »

If McGregor beats Diaz I could see him take on Alvarez in late Dec for the lightweight belt (a fight he'd have more than a good chance in) .....he'd then be the double weight belt holder he wants (and probably relinquish the 145 belt) soon after........that might seem unfair on Aldo perhaps but it's cards McGregor holds

obviously if he loses again he'll defend the 145 and Diaz will probably get a shot at the

yeah you probably right on that one. I dont think its fair on Aldo or the rest of the featherweight division (especially max Holloway). I wonder how the new Owners are going to treat Mcgregor, wonder if they are going to let him have his way or are they going to dictate terms.
Personally, i believe conor should defend his title atleast once before jumping onto other weight classes. That way their wont be any questions regarding the legitimacy of his title.

jmx009

sonofenoch wrote: »

If McGregor beats Diaz I could see him take on Alvarez in late Dec for the lightweight belt (a fight he'd have more than a good chance in) .....he'd then be the double weight belt holder he wants (and probably relinquish the 145 belt) soon after........that might seem unfair on Aldo perhaps but it's cards McGregor holds

obviously if he loses again he'll defend the 145 and Diaz will probably get a shot at the

yeah you probably right on that one. I dont think its fair on Aldo or the rest of the featherweight division (especially max Holloway). I wonder how the new Owners are going to treat Mcgregor, wonder if they are going to let him have his way or are they going to dictate terms.
Personally, i believe conor should defend his title atleast once before jumping onto other weight classes. That way their wont be any questions regarding the legitimacy of his title.