The curious case of Conor McGregor's legacy

[I am your real dad]

We would be calling him the GOAT if he stayed in his own weight class.
But he challenged himself by going up in wieght and participating in a sport he has never done before.

Both Diaz fights were at 170, Conor always fought at 145 before that. I find that very impressive.

Then he has 2 fights at 155, where he won the title in first one and lost the second one. That is pretty impressive for a 145er.

He also competed against a pro boxer despite never competing in pro boxing before.

The man would probably fight a man with a chainsaw and a shotgun if there was enough money involved.

I think we will remember Conor as a guy who never backed down from a challenge.

 

[Mortal Wombat]

He had a great left and that got him so far. He also showed the rest of the sport what they can be worth which was a good thing. But now he will be remembered as a shit human who chose money, drinking, drugs, tweeting and cheating on his missus instead of fighting. He is plain and simple an attention whore. No different from an instagram hoe that gets payed to bend over for the corporate cock.

 

[TR1]

Good fighter, annoying cunt.

That is his legacy in my eyes. Many, many other fighters have had as many top 10 wins as he has.

 

[RicksonsGrip]

(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?

Great analysis, i think he started as exceptional, but has turned more into a celebrity... had he been able to stay at featherweight and wanted to, he would be there... but in his pursuit of further greatness and money, has only acheived the money part, but not the legacy...

If he had gone the route of GSP, and been more careful, he would sure be in the exceptional realm... but he didnt... i think in moving to lightweight he has opened a door which he cant close, and inside that room are killers he cant beat... i think he will be more of a celebrity from now on... the more time goes by, and the more money he has, the less likely he will be to put in the massive sacrifices needed to be champ again... and the more he waits, the more challengers there will be....

 

[EYEKICKFACES]

He had a great left and that got him so far. He also showed the rest of the sport what they can be worth which was a good thing. But now he will be remembered as a shit human who chose money, drinking, drugs, tweeting and cheating on his missus instead of fighting. He is plain and simple an attention whore. No different from an instagram hoe that gets payed to bend over for the corporate cock.

Wait, are you talking about Conor or the guy in your AV?

 

[Mortal Wombat]

Wait, are you talking about Conor or the guy in your AV?

lol! nice one

 

[chimpanchio]

We would be calling him the GOAT if he stayed in his own weight class.
But he challenged himself by going up in wieght and participating in a sport he has never done before.

Both Diaz fights were at 170, Conor always fought at 145 before that. I find that very impressive.

Then he has 2 fights at 155, where he won the title in first one and lost the second one. That is pretty impressive for a 145er.

He also competed against a pro boxer despite never competing in pro boxing before.

The man would probably fight a man with a chainsaw and a shotgun if there was enough money involved.

I think we will remember Conor as a guy who never backed down from a challenge.

Basically you are admitting he made his living off beating guys he dramatically out reached and sized and are saying he's brave for it.

stfu

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

He made a shit load of money in a short amount of time in a sport where even the very top guys aren't that rich.... and he did that without piggy backing on a name built somewhere else (like Brock).

All of the subjective crap like "legacy", padded title defenses records, and number of top 10 wins all lose their luster after just a few years so it's pointless to try and satisfy people who will never be satisfied. Look at how people are treating GSP now and he fought the best comp by far, never popped for roids, and didn't overstay his welcome on a ridiculous losing streak... there is no winning over petty "fans" in sports.

Conor made more than enough money to survive and support his family for the rest of his life in like 4 years... anyone who nitpicks beyond this fact is just petty and jealous and I'm not even a fan

 

[Ozze]

He's the celebrity type, like you put Ronda.

Came out, made a hell of a bang, earned titles, money and fame and lost quickly.

 

[Istryker]

He made a shit load of money in a short amount of time in a sport where even the very top guys aren't that rich.... and he did that without piggy backing on a name built somewhere else (like Brock).

All of the subjective crap like "legacy", padded title defenses records, and number of top 10 wins all lose their luster after just a few years so it's pointless to try and satisfy people who will never be satisfied. Look at how people are treating GSP now and he fought the best comp by far, never popped for roids, and didn't overstay his welcome on a ridiculous losing streak... there is no winning over petty "fans" in sports.

Conor made more than enough money to survive and support his family for the rest of his life in like 4 years... anyone who nitpicks beyond this fact is just petty and jealous and I'm not even a fan

So are you saying that trying to stamp your legacy and solidify yourself as a GOAT is pointless and money is the only thing that matters?

 

[I am your real dad]

Basically you are admitting he made his living off beating guys he dramatically out reached and sized and are saying he's brave for it.

stfu

I did not say that at all.
I said 145 is his weight class.
He is actually a pretty small person.

Sorry you got triggered snowflake. You must be a Brimmage fan. he does not look very big to me.

 

[Taric]

Conor is the Bob Sapp of the American market

 

[Kvothe_the_kingkiller]

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 .

He's very, very good.

But again, what do you value? Is three great fights against great competition more valuable than 7 years and 13 fight dominance and cleaning out a division? It's subjective; ask 10 people and get 11 different answers. That's why this question will forever be discussed, because there is no definitive answer.

What's better; being the best golfer for 1 year, or being a top 3 golfer for 10 years?

My answer is, he's very, very good, but it's harder to stay on top for most of a decade. So guys like Matt Hughes, GSP, Silva, Fedor, etc should always be considered an echelon higher than Conor and BJ, even though what Conor and BJ achieved is incredible, fun, and has a higher dose immediate gratification dopamine release. But that's just me.

Cheers.

 

[Dark Individual]

He is a very good fighter but not great like Fedor, Silva, GSP, Jones and Khabib. And not even greater than the one he beat in Aldo. He is above BJ Pennn though.

 

[toutadixballes]

Conor at his weight class.

 

[Istryker]

Conor at his weight class.

Looks like a holocaust victim.

 

[Oooxente]

Making it simple,Mcg is basically this dude,
A dude with a great shot and a very smart scheme.

He did right.he made it.

 

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

So are you saying that trying to stamp your legacy and solidify yourself as a GOAT is pointless and money is the only thing that matters?

The GOAT debate is pointless and serves no real purpose. It's a glorified pissing match that will have no end and there is nothing significant or official about it. Rankings change overnight, fans' perspectives change every generation, and the current "guy" will always get hyped over guys from the past. Striving solely for some sort of mythical "legacy" to impress a bunch of so called experts is a losing battle and any real athlete doesn't pay attention to that crap.

This is prize fighting and the goal is to make money. People bitch all the time about fighter pay yet all of those curtain jerkers making $1200 a shot in Bellator are hoping to one day be able to make enough to survive off of let alone go on to be a star in main events, on posters, etc.

Beyond the actual financial numbers, Conor has won the freedom to spend time with his family/friends (i.e. people he actually knows and not online weirdos) which is really what matters at the end of the day. 99% of people would love to be able to decide not to go to work anymore and he's at that point already at a very young age. Anyone with a drop of maturity would understand that is a much bigger achievement than any "record" could be and will matter a hell of a lot more in the long run.

He did achieve a lot in the sport that will live on in highlight reels and in the minds of fans who saw his fights. Someone like Demetrius Johnson, who by the way spends more time bitching about money than anyone, broke tons of records but his fights were usually terrible and he lost 1 split decision and now he's forgotten. Moments last longer in fans' minds than pointless records and something like Conor winning 2 belts at the same time or knocking out Aldo in 13 seconds will last a hell of a lot longer than anything DJ did.... and Conor got paid way more accordingly.

 

[Geo_Mac]

He is a great fighter, but regardless of who he fought they were for the most part favourable match ups on his way to and ultimately winning the titles. He just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Any of the fighters who held previous wrestling experience were not fighters who were going to bring the type of fight to McGregor to be able to beat him on his way to the titles. The fighters who had wrestling experience went with the stand-up game and ultimately forgot about their grappling game. That or they were strikers who just weren't on the same level McGregor was when they fought.

Notable examples would be Max Holloway and Chad Mendes, and the only fight that could have potentially set him back was the Diaz fight who originally laid the blueprint to beating McGregor...and we all know what happened immediately after. The hype train was too large to derail after that.

Title fights with a slowly deteriorating Aldo (who was still better than everyone else in the division at that time) we can only understand in hindsight how perfect the timing was for this fight and how good Conor was/is, and Eddie Alvarez who went on to lose to Dustin Poirier whom McGregor previously tooled all point to generally favourable matchmaking. Just look at all the fighters whom he faced and their records on his rise and you can get the idea.

Not saying that he was gifted his first title shot, he earned that one. But the second one against Alvarez was purely a calculated PR move on both UFC and McGregor.

He showed true potential to be a great but he never really took the time to patch up holes in his game as he progressed.

 

[KootenayKid]

Leaving out Mendes and Poirier, while calling Nate Diaz past prime just shows you're stretching to make a point, He had never looked better, starting with the MJ return fight. You may be very insightful but I can't consider this un-bias.