“This is like a therapy session!”
Notice how quick Darren Till was to stash the bling, as ‘True Geordie’ Brian Davis dished out truth-bombs.
We are days away from a fight that may decide the next few years of Conor McGregor’s journey as a Mixed Martial Artist. The Dubliner takes on Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, on Saturday, and there is a lot riding on it.
Should McGregor avenge his January loss to Poirier, he will take their trilogy 2-1 and, most likely, go on to face Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira for the UFC lightweight belt, later this year.
Should he lose to Poirier for the second time in six months, will loses the trilogy, drops to 1-3 in his last four UFC fights, falls down the lightweight pecking order and takes a huge reputational hit. For all of McGregor’s great MMA deeds, some could validly argue that his peak was November 2016 and that his edge was gone.
There would still be big pay-per-view events in his future, if he chose to fight on, but getting back to the top of the mountain may be too much of a stretch. It would not be surprising, should he lose, to see him go out in a blaze against Nate Diaz in a trilogy fight that would generate huge interest.
McGregor’s fight camp for this Poirier rematch has been in California and there have been very few media engagements. There was no Mcgregor soundbites or major gym access for ‘Countdown’ and he has not featured in the first two UFC ‘Embedded’ episodes.
What we have seen, though, is McGregor remaining active on social media and speaking direct, and unfiltered, to his fans and followers. There have been voice notes and screenshots to try get under the skin of Poirier too.
As part of their preview for UFC 264, BT Sport assembled the likes of Dan Hardy and Darren Till in an Octagon to get stuck in. They also asked YouTuber Davis, better known as ‘True Geordie’ to share his thoughts. He did just that, getting deep on why McGregor may never get back to where he once was:
Harking back to McGregor’s relaxed, jovial nature and kind words to Poirier, around that UFC 257 bout, he believes ‘The Notorious’ underestimated his opponent and felt he had enough to beat him.
“That [lack of] insecurity is what I’m worried about, as a fan of him. We’ve seen Floyd Mayweather maintain his dominance, over the years, because he is such an insecure person. That’s why he is covered in jewellery and wants everyone to know how rich he is, because he doesn’t really feel worth a lot inside.
“But Conor is happy and content, and if we don’t see that he can dig through that, I think the same result will happen again.”
“I do worry that he’s happy and content, because that’s not a fighter, in my head,” he added. “I know Rocky wasn’t real, but there was real lessons in that.”
"This is like a therapy session!?"@darrentill2, @AdamCatterall, @Peety_Editor, @DanHardyMMA, and @TrueGeordieTG go deep on #UFC264.
This is going to be good.
Watch 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘃 𝗠𝗰𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 at 𝟲𝗽𝗺 on 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲. pic.twitter.com/El82jpmP34
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) July 7, 2021
Davis’ comments are similar to those of UFC president Dana White, who mused on McGregor’s loss to Poirier back in a February interview with ESPN.
“I’m not taking anything away from Poirier,” he said, “but when you pull in on a super yacht and you’re living the life that Conor lives, you need to be hungry and you need to take every guy seriously.”
McGregor believes he is a much better fighter now than he was at his title-winning weak – between 2014 and 2016. That may be true, but it may also be that his rivals have improved even more and he has been overtaken.
Saturday night in Las Vegas will tell us more.
