As with any Conor McGregor fight since he became a major star, there is always going to be talk surrounding how dedicated he is for the training camp.
“The Notorious” has openly admitted that for his return to the Octagon to face Khabib Nurmagomedov, he was cutting corners where he shouldn’t have.
That version appeared to go away for his subsequent fights against Donald Cerrone and Dustin Poirier but there’s always going to be a big question mark surrounding his hunger.
These questions about his fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 were not helped by the videos that were released this past weekend of McGregor partying at his The Black Forge Inn until the early hours of the morning.
However, as a former champion pointed out, this could end up being far less damning than it appears.
Kamaru Usman Defends Videos Of Conor McGregor Partying During His Training Camp
The image of McGregor dancing the night away at his own establishment is sure to raise alarm bells but Kamaru Usman questions whether people have jumped to conclusions.
Upon seeing the videos for the first time on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, he pointed out two key things.
Firstly, McGregor isn’t seen drinking or holding any alcohol in the video and secondly, he’s only dancing with his fiancée, Dee Devlin.
“No, if that’s his wife and they’re hanging out and having a great time and yeah, it’s at least he didn’t have a drink in his hand right? So yeah, he’s blowing off some team, he’s hanging, having a great time partying, if that’s what’s working for him, that’s what’s working for him, I don’t judge.”
Usman also questioned whether the video could be an attempt from McGregor to play mind games, forcing people to underestimate him based on what they have seen ahead of June 29.
“There’s no drink in his hand so listen, Conor McGregor is a smart man, I don’t take anything away from him. I think he’s smart enough to understand that ‘hey, I could play possum here if I need to’, so he could be playing like ‘I’m not training’, he could have just left the gym right here.”
