Contrary to the common misconception, Conor McGregor is not actually from Britain.
It’s not difficult to mistake the lilting Dublin accent of the reigning UFC lightweight champion for cockney.
And, similarly, it’s not like ‘The Notorious’ has ever made his nationality known by carrying the flag of his native country.
But we think it’s Ireland.
McGregor is actually one of the most successful sportspeople ever to emerge from these shores but he’s become the latest Irish athlete to be claimed as British.
And it happened on St. Patrick’s Day of all days.
McGregor’s SBG teammate and close friend Cathal Pendred, who retired from MMA in 2015, pointed out an error from The Sun who, in a piece on the retiring Londoner Brad Pickett, rightly suggested that ‘One Punch’ had inspired a generation of British fighters but wrongly included McGregor in that group.
“The bantamweight built a house out of his passion and helped pave the way for British stars like Conor McGregor to star in the UFC.”
https://twitter.com/Pendred/status/842711343778205697
There’s no taking away from the impact that Pickett has had on the sport of MMA but, having checked and double-checked, we have discovered that McGregor actually hails from Ireland.
Who knew?
‘The Notorious’ will be in New York City on Friday night to carry the Irish flag to the ring for Michael Conlan’s professional debut.
