“The Notorious” Conor McGregor hasn’t even stepped foot inside the Octagon this year, but already, his numerous potential dance partners are already chomping at the bits for a piece of the Irishman, and it comes hardly as a surprise. Everyone wants to land the McGregor sweepstakes because a bout with the UFC’s biggest star is sure to bring in the big money.
Guys like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz have all called McGregor out recently. Since his much publicized 10th round technical knockout loss to boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather in early September, McGregor’s star grew even bigger, if that were at all possible.
McGregor, the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, is the highest paid mixed martial arts star on the planet. He got to this point with a string of emphatic victories, and genius self-promotion.
Max Holloway says he would ‘end’ the McGregor fairytale…
Most recently, it was Hawaii’s Max “Blessed” Holloway who had some strong words for McGregor. If you all remember, McGregor decisioned Holloway in just his second UFC bout back in 2013. Holloway spoke to FloCombat and had some choice statements.
“That man needs to tell himself that to get up then so be it. At the end of the day, I’m here waiting. Right now, it’s this fairytale they have that they don’t want to end. You talked a fairytale with that Nate [Diaz] fight but then they came up saying it was at 170 and he’s three times his size and blah, blah, blah. It’s a fairytale that he’s holding onto and it’s a fairytale he doesn’t want to end.”
“He can go around and tell everyone he’s the featherweight champion, but he keeps forgetting numbers. It’s 2017. Imagine LeBron (James) going around and saying that he didn’t want to play against Golden State this year because he beat them the year before. That makes no sense, and Golden State ended up winning.
“People look at this sport different than other sports, and it blows my mind. The whole thing is just crazy.”
“I’m turning 26, I’m growing, so if that fight happens, it’s probably at (155). Don’t forget your boy is Hawaiian and Samoan. I love to eat. Lightweight is not out of the question.”
Conor McGregor responds to Max Holloway at Glasgow
Not one to mince his words, McGregor, of course, had his response, although it’s not what you would normally expect. Instead of bashing Holloway with his usual verbal flair, McGregor heaped praises onto the American.
“I sonned that young boy,” McGregor told Caroline Pearce to the elation of the crowd.
After providing the audience in Glasgow with a short but familiar McGregor one-liner, McGregor gave his honest take on things.
“I’m not mad at him,” McGregor said of Holloway.
“He’s done a great job. He’s climbed up and claimed that featherweight belt. You see some fights, and so do the public, you see him go in there and you watch him win or lose and you watch how they act and how they carry on.
“He lost to me and he took it on the chin, he kept his mind frame sharp. Same with Poirier, he’s another guy who kept his mind frame sharp and carried on. Alvarez as well, he took it well – you’ve got to take it on the f**king chin.
“You’re gonna win some, you’re gonna lose some. Get back on your bike, study the game a bit more, put in that extra bit of work and correct those errors that you’ve seen – carry on.
“That’s what I’m doing. That’s what I’ve seen (Holloway) doing. He went on to capture the unified belt off of Aldo, even though I beat both of them. Look, it’s a hard one for me that one.”
“If he wants to come up, then maybe. We’ll figure it out,” he said. “That’s another option, but it’s a low down the totem pole option.”
