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Conor McGregor: The Ali of the UFC

Conor McGregor has threatened to end the career of Eddie Alvarez. (Image source: Flickr)
Roar Guru
31st August, 2015
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I read on an Irish MMA blog that the legendary beserker figure of Irish folklore, Cuchulain, had risen again in the form of the Dublin-based UFC fighter Conor McGregor.

Not long before McGregor’s epic battle with Chad Mendes, UFC CEO Lorenzo Ferrita compared the brash Irishman with boxing great Muhummad Ali.

Indeed, I wrote an article late last year after watching McGregor’s handiwork that echoed the same sentiments.

Since then the Irishman beat Mendes convincingly in two rounds and in a manner that was very Ali-esque.

Playing the mixed martial arts version of rope-a-dope, McGregor fought off his back as Mendes sat in his guard, raining down heavy shots.

Mendes said after, “I hit him with some pretty good shots but he kept running his mouth.”

Much like Ali weathering the storm in the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, McGregor tired his opponent out, then jumped back to his feet and clinically disposed of Mendes, knocking him out with a clean shot to the temple.

Much like ‘The Greatest’ in boxing, McGregor has made believers of sceptics just from interviews. MMA commentators Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen both changed their minds on the outcome of the Mendes fight after they interviewed Conor and saw how supremely confident he was.

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Mendes was the perfect opponent to beat McGregor: a super athletic, musclebound powerhouse who is a takedown machine with a giant-killing overhand right. A nightmare of a match-up for the boxing-centric celt. He was George Foreman to McGregor’s Ali.

As he had baited Jose Aldo, McGregor taunted Mendes. Maybe it’s the Irish accent, or being a veteran of Dublin pub banter, but his trash talk seems as organic as Ali’s and leaves you wondering at the seemingly endless series of sound bytes. McGregor also calls rounds like Ali did, effortlessly makes good on his predictions, performs Bundini-style antics at the weigh-ins, and has the twinkle in the eye as his opponents get rattled.

As for his fighting style, McGregor is the UFC’s ultimate entertainer. He is flashy, disrespectful, explosive and moves into range fearlessly. His multiple angles of attack and hand speed can be compared to Ali’s, as can his excitement. His 17 wins have been within the predicted distance 16 times.

McGregor’s fight IQ is driven by the forward-thinking John Kavanagh from SBG in Dublin – the Irish Angelo Dundee. In his attack of the body against Mendes, and his backing up a flat-footed Dustin Poirer you could see the tactics at work as all his punches found their mark.

As Chael Sonnen said, “There are no airswings with this guy.”

McGregor is also a man mobilising a country going through hard financial times. The Irish are rallying behind their superstar in an unprecedented way, talking about stadium shows at Croke park in Dublin – the city where he claimed to be “king”.

He is as loved in Northern Ireland as the Republic – regardless of the troubles, they claim him as their own. Through sport he unites the fighting Irish, who are not here to take part but take over.

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When he came out to the Sinead O’Connor song that salutes the Easter Uprising, he made a statement. As I looked around the Tea Gardens in Bondi Junction, packed to the rafters on a Sunday morning with Irish fans with tears in their eyes, it was clear he had started something special.

Dana White says McGregor is bigger than Brock Lesnar. Can he get any bigger?

They are predicting over 2 million in pay-per-views when he takes on Jose Aldo to prove once and for all that he is the greatest featherweight that has ever lived.

See you at the Tea Gardens.

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