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The Conor McGregor Bandwagon is Filling Up Again
As welcome back parties go, it was a brief one. Forty seconds in, the candles were blown out and the guest of honor was on his way out the door. Still, they cheered him as loud and as long as they could. How could they not? They were there to see the king return, and return he has, still capable of innovating and incinerating opponents in a blink.
Three years after he last won a mixed martial arts fight, Conor McGregor looked vintage, like a barrel-aged whiskey, in a fight that he was supposed to win, and that he had to win. Those are sometimes the hardest ones to deliver. The weight of expectation has held down many a champion, the fear of failure has stalled even more.
Following a self-inflicted nightmare of a 2019 that included . . . he wore a zen-like calmness like a bespoke suit. He refused to badmouth his opponent Donald Cerrone, instead consistently voicing his respect for all his accomplishments. He thanked his supporters for their loyalty. He declined to look ahead. He was the consummate professional. He didn’t seem so notorious. He seemed … happy.
It was a long time since we’d seen that, and it carried through his fight and beyond. After knocking out Cerrone, helped by a creative series of shoulder strikes followed by a head kick, he checked on his opponent, then shared a sympathetic embrace with Cerrone’s beloved grandmother. Even when he had a chance to stick it to his detractors, he didn’t, choosing instead the high road.
“Nothing, silence, focus on the positives,” he said in the UFC on ESPN+ post-fight show when asked what he might say to them. “I’m very grateful for the people who stuck with me through these trying times.”
What? Who is this guy?
Cont...
https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/1/...ling-up-again-but-the-uphill-climb-starts-now
As welcome back parties go, it was a brief one. Forty seconds in, the candles were blown out and the guest of honor was on his way out the door. Still, they cheered him as loud and as long as they could. How could they not? They were there to see the king return, and return he has, still capable of innovating and incinerating opponents in a blink.
Three years after he last won a mixed martial arts fight, Conor McGregor looked vintage, like a barrel-aged whiskey, in a fight that he was supposed to win, and that he had to win. Those are sometimes the hardest ones to deliver. The weight of expectation has held down many a champion, the fear of failure has stalled even more.
Following a self-inflicted nightmare of a 2019 that included . . . he wore a zen-like calmness like a bespoke suit. He refused to badmouth his opponent Donald Cerrone, instead consistently voicing his respect for all his accomplishments. He thanked his supporters for their loyalty. He declined to look ahead. He was the consummate professional. He didn’t seem so notorious. He seemed … happy.
It was a long time since we’d seen that, and it carried through his fight and beyond. After knocking out Cerrone, helped by a creative series of shoulder strikes followed by a head kick, he checked on his opponent, then shared a sympathetic embrace with Cerrone’s beloved grandmother. Even when he had a chance to stick it to his detractors, he didn’t, choosing instead the high road.
“Nothing, silence, focus on the positives,” he said in the UFC on ESPN+ post-fight show when asked what he might say to them. “I’m very grateful for the people who stuck with me through these trying times.”
What? Who is this guy?
Cont...
https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/1/...ling-up-again-but-the-uphill-climb-starts-now
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