The curious case of Conor McGregor's legacy

Istryker

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(This may be a little long)

In MMA there are three types of Greats.

There are the Pioneer (The Bj Penn,Ken Shamrock,Royce Gracie, Cris Cyborg types)

There are the Celebrities (Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Chuck Liddell, Kimbo Slice)

And then lastly there are the Exceptional Ones (Fedor, Jon Jones, GSP, Anderson Silva, Amanda Nunes)



Now... Where exactly does that leave Conor? Don't get me wrong I'm no Hater or fan but assuming he's retired for good what is his legacy in the sport? He's the Ufc's first champ champ but when you dissect his competition (which is what happens to all greats in every sport) it gets a little shaky. He one shotted Jose Aldo in 5 seconds to win the Featherweight title yes, he obliterated and gave a career altering beating to Eddie Alvarez to win his second belt yes he did and that's amazing and all but... He never really earned his way to that light weight belt and he went through ugly wars with a past prime journeyman Nate Diaz, wars in which some people claim he never won either fight. Not only that but the beating that Khabib gave him was really bad and he looked outclassed the entire fight.

All in all Conor broke buy rates and made history but is he actually a GOAT level fighter?
 
Another Conor thread that...
 
His first 10 fights in 3.5 years in the UFC prove he was a very, very good fighter.

Some will remember his as possibly the best ever who never proved it. Because longevity and/or dominance over a period of time is highly valued.

In fact, it will probably be a source of forum debate until the sport or world ends, whichever comes first. In 200 years someone will ask "so how good was Conor anyway?!?"

Few will blame him for deciding to earn MayMac money instead of 'prove his legacy' or however you choose to phrase it (though today lots do).
 
well he is the greatest celebrity ever made from mma. he did his job, fight, get rich and retire. he is pretty smart tbh. kinda sad to see him on Twitter nowadays.
{<Mcgoat}
 
His first 10 fights in 3.5 years in the UFC prove he was a very, very good fighter.

Some will remember his as possibly the best ever who never proved it. Because longevity and/or dominance over a period of time is highly valued.

In fact, it will probably be a source of forum debate until the sport or world ends, whichever comes first. In 200 years someone will ask "so how good was Conor anyway?!?"

Few will blame him for deciding to earn MayMac money instead of 'prove his legacy' or however you choose to phrase it (though today lots do).


In a way I’m asking just how good is he anyway lol. Don’t get me wrong, he achieved a shitton but he also left so much to be desired that in a way you kinda feel cheated out .
 
well he is the greatest celebrity ever made from mma. he did his job, fight, get rich and retire. he is pretty smart tbh. kinda sad to see him on Twitter nowadays.
{<Mcgoat}


Rousey doesn’t exist anymore?
 
He's a very good fighter but not even close to goat conversation.
 
The brightest stars usually burn out the fastest.

Looked like an exceptional talent, then chose showmanship over training. I think he stopped evolving after Aldo, but he was also trying to fight in a heavier division.

Who knows what his limits really were, but it’s clear he doesn’t have the discipline and substance to remain at the top.
 
Rousey doesn’t exist anymore?
well yeah she does but i think conor edges her out, the world of mma dislikes her while 50 percent of the mma world dislikes conor. and he has his whiskey brand that makes millions. his what 30 millions instagram followers ? just my opinion though.
-Old Conor Fan​
 
To me he's going to be remembered as a very smart guy, let be honest who'd have thought you could make as much money as he has and rise to fame in a sport that effectively paid peanuts to its athletes? The guys a genius who happened to be quite talented at what he did, people since have tried to mimic him but he had just the right combination of swagger, talk and also skill to back it up when it mattered most, all the stars aligned for him.

He's not the best fighter ever, he's not even the best talker, he had just enough of everything and also the balls to put it all on the line and it paid off.
 
I have this great idea for a gif where Khabib is hitting Conor over the head with a bottle of Proper 12.
But I haven't got the photoshop skills to make it.
Can you just imagine it for me.
 
(This may be a little long)

In MMA there are three types of Greats.

There are the Pioneer (The Bj Penn,Ken Shamrock,Royce Gracie, Cris Cyborg types)

There are the Celebrities (Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Chuck Liddell, Kimbo Slice)

And then lastly there are the Exceptional Ones (Fedor, Jon Jones, GSP, Anderson Silva, Amanda Nunes)



Now... Where exactly does that leave Conor? Don't get me wrong I'm no Hater or fan but assuming he's retired for good what is his legacy in the sport? He's the Ufc's first champ champ but when you dissect his competition (which is what happens to all greats in every sport) it gets a little shaky. He one shotted Jose Aldo in 5 seconds to win the Featherweight title yes, he obliterated and gave a career altering beating to Eddie Alvarez to win his second belt yes he did and that's amazing and all but... He never really earned his way to that light weight belt and he went through ugly wars with a past prime journeyman Nate Diaz, wars in which some people claim he never won either fight. Not only that but the beating that Khabib gave him was really bad and he looked outclassed the entire fight.

All in all Conor broke buy rates and made history but is he actually a GOAT level fighter?

I don't think he did enough to establish GOAT level, but he was a modern pioneer in some ways when it comes to promoting fights. He didn't invent "gurdge match" promotions but he did lay out a good roadmap for other fighters to follow when it comes to promoting a fight.

I also need to say Connor was not the first champ champ in the UFC, BJ Penn and Randy Couture did it first. It was just back then the UFC wouldn't allow you to hold the belts in 2 divisions, so when they fought for a belt at a different weight class they were immediately stripped. It doesn't change the fact that both were 2 division champions before Connor.
 
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