East Saturday night the action returns to the cage of the UFC. And it will be with one of the best fighters of recent times in mixed martial arts: Connor McGregor.
The Irishman returns, after his third retirement, to fight in the franchise that gave him world fame to face Dustin Poirier in the main fight of the UFC 257, which will be played in the Fight island of Abu Dhabi.
This fight will be decisive to find a possible new champion in the category of light weight, whose belt has been vacant since the retirement of Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Conor McGregor in his last fight against Donald Cerrone. Photo: Reuters.
McGregor played his last fight in January 2020 against Donald Cerrone, whom he beat in 40 seconds. That is, it has been more than a year that you have not seen activity. The last victory before that fight had been in 2016 against Eddie Alvarez.
On the other hand, The Notorious he had announced his retirement in June of last year. It was the third time I did it and, again, via Twitter.
The former world champion in two UFC divisions (featherweight and lightweight) left the Octagon for the first time in 2016, but soon returned to fight Eddie Alvarez and be crowned champion of the lightweight category. His second retirement was in March 2019, a year after losing to Nurmagomedov. All the announcements were made from that social network. No turns, like when he attacks to knock out.
On October 6, 2018 Khabib Nurmagomedov beat Conor McGregor, by submission in the fourth round. Photo: Reuters.
The Irishman, who emerged in boxing and trained in MMA from the age of 16, has combat in his blood. Technically gifted, capable of performing the best knockouts, both with the fists and feet, and with the tongue. Able to testify, but unable to control his emotions. He also became famous for his scandals outside the cage.
What does Conor McGregor do when he’s not inside the Octagon?
On April 6, 2019, the Irishman was drinking in a Pub in Dublin. He offered a free whiskey to an older man who was close to his group of friends. But before the refusal of this, the fighter had no better idea than hit him with his left fist To everyone’s surprise. The video went viral soon after.
A few months earlier, on March 11, 2019, he had been arrested outside Miami for an altercation with a fan. They were taking pictures of him and, not happy with the situation, the fighter crashed the fan’s phone and took it away. He had to pay $ 5,000 as bail and a few days later he was sued for theft.
If it is about McGregor’s “few fleas”, we must highlight one of the most remembered conflicts within The Ultimate Fighter. On April 5, 2018, in the promotion of the UFC 223 event, McGregor and a group of people tried to reprimand Nurmagomedov who was retiring on a bus with other fighters. The Irishman ran along the bus and he threw a forklift that was in the place, it entered through the window making it explode and hurt several fighters, which could not participate in the event. The Irishman was charged by the courts but everything was resolved with community service.
But also, after his fight against Eddie Álvarez in 2016, where he was crowned champion in two different categories, McGregor wanted to return to his first love. The boxing. This was one of the Irishman’s few good moments outside of the UFC.
As it is, on August 26, 2017 faced Floyd Mayweather in a 12-round match in Las Vegas. McGregor took home $ 100 million after losing in the 10th round by technical knockout. And the American achieved his 49th consecutive victory in the boxing world. Two legends.
“It’s in my blood to fight, and that’s it,” he said. The Notorious in an interview with CNN. It is clear. Everything seems to indicate that he cannot get away from the fights even being out of the octagon. This Saturday’s fight will be the first step towards McGregor’s goal: to raise the lightweight belt.
For now, Poirier is in front, although the Irishman already considers the fight won and looks ahead. He has the Russian eagle Nurmagomedov between his eyebrows. The Dagestani, currently retired, has an incredible 29-0 record and already beat him in 2018 with a submission in the fourth round. Conor is thirsty for revenge. The lightweight title is vacant and the world of MMA awaits the second edition of the fight between McGregor and Nurmagomedov. Will it be in 2021? Only a victory this Saturday will allow him to dream of a rematch.
(With information from EFE).
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