Conor McGregor has changed. Almost all UFC fans are aware of the often-repeated statement that this is not the same young and hungry McGregor that fans fell in love with. Middleweight boxing champion Marvin Hagler once said it is difficult to get up at five and train when you are sleeping in silk pajamas. And that is exactly what seems to have happened to McGregor. The UFC megastar is not only the most famous fighter in MMA history but also the richest.
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This, as even friend and UFC CEO Dana White has admitted, has lessened the sheer desperation and drive to succeed that motivated McGregor, who came from a working-class family in Dublin and was even homeless at one point. Until he got into the UFC and was propelled to superstardom, thanks in part to his friend Dana White. And a decade-old video shows just how soon White was doing all he could to boost Conor’s profile, even as he was barely two fights into the promotion.
Old video shows Dana White spotting McGregor’s potential at a very early stage
Conor McGregor made his UFC debut in 2013 after he became a double champion in the Cage Warriors (CW) promotion (which gives him the distinction of being a double champ in two promotions, becoming the first double champion in the UFC after CW). And in 2013, few were aware of who McGregor was or the potential he held.
But White, clearly, was not one of them. The MacLife, a media entity owned by Conor McGregor, uploaded an old video from 2013 on their YouTube channel three years ago, which shows an interaction between the newcomer and the UFC boss. In it, White tells the Dubliner that they will have a card in Dublin and another in Boston for him.
“And we are going back to Ireland. We are going to do a fight in Dublin. So you’re gonna be doing Dublin and Boston,” White told ‘Notorious’, who was very happy to hear this. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Oh man, brilliant,” he said to White.
Dublin is McGregor’s hometown, and Boston has a significant Irish-American population, which would be in ‘Mac’s corner. However, what is remarkable is that McGregor could not have been two fights into his UFC career, yet White was already all in on McGregor trying to build him up. This goes to show that the UFC CEO has an eye for spotting talent and building them up. And McGregor is eager to return to the place that gave him the platform to succeed, as indicated in a recent interview.
When will Conor McGregor return to the UFC?
Conor McGregor is very eager to return to the UFC. In a recent interview, an emotional ‘Mac’ claimed that he had been kept from earning his living for the past three years and repeatedly asked to be given a date as the inactivity has taken a toll on his mental health and overall well-being.
The most likely candidate for his return seems to be in April for UFC 300, which McGregor himself alluded to in the interview. However, this is just conjecture until an official announcement from the UFC sets a date for his return. He will most likely face his rival TUF 31 coach and UFC welterweight Michael Chandler on his comeback. Do you think McGregor should return in April for UFC 300? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Written by
Edited by
Abhishek Das