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27th Aug 2017

Conor McGregor’s unseen reaction to his performance speaks volumes

Says a lot

Ben Kiely

Even an untrained eye could pick up a lot from how Conor McGregor approached Floyd Mayweather.

When Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather was first announced, it was written off as a farce, a circus sideshow, a cash and grab.

The detractors all threw the same kinds of mud in his direction. They said he wouldn’t land a punch. They said his confidence was merely a promotional tool used to sell the fight. They said he was only in it for the huge payday.

From the way McGregor fought arguably the greatest defensive boxer ever, it was clear that none of this was true. He was able to land significant blows. He went out there with the intent of achieving the impossible by handing the unbeatable his first ever loss and, as hard as it may be for some people to understand, he genuinely thought he was going to do it.

Those who were first exposed to McGregor on the world tour promoting the diamond-encrusted panty night may have got the wrong impression of his character. The man operates at a delusional level of self-belief, and that’s not to be taken as an insult. More often than not, when he’s faced with an improbable challenge, he

More often than not, when he’s faced with an improbable challenge, he succeeds at defying the odds. He rendered the seemingly invincible Jose Aldo unconscious in 13 seconds, he smashed the UFC PPV record with a rematch against a middling lightweight at 170 lbs and he crumbled legitimate legend Eddie Alvarez’s granite chin to dust.

Him thinking that he could actually beat Mayweather in his first foray into professional pugilism was just par for the course.

McGregor backed up his ‘big Irish balls’ claim with his performance against Mayweather. He made the fight somewhat competitive and managed this feat by staying true to his own fighting style. Any normal person would be proud of this fact, but McGregor’s not normal by anyone’s estimations. Dana White’s post-fight interview with Megan Olivi really showed McGregor’s mind set.

As Dana White revealed in his post-fight interview with Megan Olivi, he was bitterly disappointed with the result of the fight.

“He’s not (proud of his performance). He’s very upset with himself. He feels that that fight was there for the taking. He thinks that the fight was stopped early. I was good with the stoppage. He’s not a professional boxer. He’s stepped in there to fight arguably the greatest boxer of all time and he looked damn good doing it. I was ok with 10 rounds.”

Hopefully one day McGregor will have a newfound appreciation of his achievement on August 26, 2017.