Conor McGregor was not only gifted with a devastating left-hand punch. He was also given the gift of gab. Perhaps Muhammad Ali was the best talker in all of sports but McGregor is right behind The Great One when it comes to quotable lines.
Give The Notorious the microphone and he will start talking. Whether it’s post-fight interviews, post-event press conferences, or pre-fight pressers, you better listen to McGregor because he might just say something that will be in tomorrow’s headlines.
You can’t deny that McGregor smooth-talked his way into getting big opportunities throughout his career. But what makes Conor McGregor different is that he has been able to back up and walk his talk.
1. “We’re not here to take part. We’re here to take over.”
UFC Fight Night 46 on July 19, 2014, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland saw Conor McGregor headline a UFC event for the first time. In that event, McGregor knocked out Diego Barandao inside one round to pick up his third straight win in the UFC Octagon.
Four other Irish fighters saw action in that event and all of them won their respective bouts. The clean sweep by the Irish led to McGregor blurting out that popular line.
2. “Nobody can take that left-hand shot. But I tell you, he’s powerful and he’s fast. But precision beat the power and timing beats the speed and that’s what you saw there.”
Conor McGregor faced Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on December 12, 2015. The Notorious famously knocked out Aldo in a mere 11 seconds to become UFC champion for the first time in his career.
3. “I’d like to take this chance to apologize…..to absolutely nobody.”
One fight after beating Aldo, McGregor moved up in weight class to challenge Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205 in New York.
McGregor knocked out Alvarez to become the promotion’s first fighter to hold two world titles at the same time. In his run to the top of the ladder, McGregor trash-talked anyone who stood between him and success so after beating During the post-event press conference, McGregor offered to apologize…to nobody.
4. “Who the f— is that guy?”
Before McGregor could answer, Jeremy Stephens infamously interrupted McGregor by offering himself as the Irishman’s next opponent. That led to McGregor infamously blurting out this six-word all-time quote.
5. “You’re damn right I’m in it to make money. This is prizefighting, I’m in it to get rich, fast. And then I’m in it to get out.”
During an interview with eir Sports eight years ago, McGregor made it known that he was in the UFC to get rich and once he gets the money, he has no plans of staying long in the fight game.
This statement has somewhat come true because ever since McGregor started making big money, he has been in no rush to return to the Octagon and has been more busy enjoying the spoils of his MMA career.