McGregor is a fighter who is not short on confidence or originality, so questioning where his confidence comes from is bound to provoke an original answer
“The Notorious” is just about as big a superstar as the UFC have ever had, yet he is not without his critics. The UFC lightweight champion of the world has his detractors, especially those who align themselves with the tag of “MMA Purist”.
There are reasons for this. The most common case put forward is that McGregor has never defended a title, despite holding the featherweight and lightweight crowns in European promotion Cage Warriors, as well as belts in the same divisions in the UFC. The Dubliner knocked Jose Aldo out cold in 13 seconds to take the 145-pound belt at UFC 194 in 2015, before moving up to the welterweight division for two non-title fights against Nate Diaz in 2016. Despite holding the featherweight division hostage, he was afforded a lightweight championship bout against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016 where he made history. While McGregor has his reasons, many are not buying them.
Aside from the champion’s perceived favouritism afforded to him by the UFC hierarchy, many find his brashness and cockiness distasteful. “The Notorious” is a master at trash talking and self-promotion, which can sometimes win you more enemies than friends in sport (just ask his prospective boxing opponent and serial pantomime villain, Floyd Mayweather Jr.)
Men’s style magazine GQ Style recently spoke to McGregor about a range of topics which included his famed left hand, and the basis of his brash confidence. McGregor’s answers were typically hilarious:
“No one’s work is clean like my work. My shots are clean. My shots are precise. Look at Nate. Nate was 200 pounds. When I hit him down, it was exactly like if a sniper took aim at someone in between their eyeballs and let the thing rip.
“The way he dropped, it was like a sack of sh*t. So that’s a power I have.”
When asked about the foundation of his confidence, McGregor stated that it is sourced from a surprising area of his anatomy:
“It’s all in the nutsack. It’s all in the ball sack. I just have confidence that comes from my big ball sack, and I know when I smack you, you’re going down. And that’s it.”
The Irishman is frequently referred to as “ballsy” in his homeland of Ireland, but no one knew just how literal the champion of the UFC’s 155-pound division would take this…
