It's hard to imagine a UFC without Conor McGregor. In just three short years, the Irishman has rewritten all the rules, backing up his never-ending trash talk with performances we won't soon forget.
Along the way, he's become one of the most potent drawing cards in the sport's entire history.
McGregor knocked out the best featherweight of all time in just 13 seconds last December. But dispatching Jose Aldo was hardly a singular moment for the new champion. Months earlier, he took on potent American wrestler Chad Mendes on short notice and a bum knee. Maybe that's why it took him two whole rounds to finish the fight?
Despite McGregor's unprecedented success—or maybe because of it—doubters continue to lurk.
When Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter broke the news that McGregor would venture up to the lightweight class to challenge champion Rafael dos Anjos, some even suggested he did so in order to avoid featherweight challenger Frankie Edgar.
For some, facing down Mendes without proper time to prepare wasn’t enough. Neither was becoming the first man to beat Aldo in more than a decade. Some still question McGregor's fortitude.
Is that fair? And is McGregor ducking Edgar, himself a former lightweight champion? Bleacher Report Lead Writers Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter discuss the man some love to hate.
Jonathan Snowden: At every stop along the way, McGregor faced doubters. Each opponent, from young gun Max Holloway to Russian slugger Dennis Siver, was supposed to be the one to finally bring him down to earth.
But so far, he's still flying high.
In the beginning, it was fair to question McGregor. MMA is a complicated game, and the competition comes in all shapes and sizes. Over the years, we’ve seen a number of flashy strikers come and go, the scourge of American wrestling turning contenders into pretenders in a blink.
But the Mendes fight should have silenced those doubts. He survived the worst from the best wrestler in the division. Yes, wrestling may always pose problems for McGregor. You know who else it poses problems for, Jeremy? Everyone.
It's easy to tell people what you intend to do. Backing it up is harder. That's the tricky part that derailed MMA's last big-mouthed charmer Chael Sonnen. Sonnen had the patter down but couldn't deliver in the cage. McGregor writes checks with his mouth, then cashes them with a smile.
There is only one Conor McGregor. I'm not sure our hearts could handle another.
Jeremy Botter: The thing I’ve come to realize about McGregor is that, no matter what he does, people are going to come up with new and creative ways to hate him. That’s partially because of his mouth, sure, but it’s also because MMA fans—and I guess sports fans in general—love to hate on anything that is successful.
Whether it’s the "American wrestler" question or the "Brazilian champion" question or the "beastly lightweight champion" question, there is always going to be something.
If McGregor knocks out dos Anjos—and I think he’ll do just that, in fact—there will be some other made-up reason to hate him coming down the pipe.
That’s where this Edgar stuff comes from, and anyone in their right mind can see how silly it is. Yes, Edgar deserves a title shot. He is long past due for one.
But anyone who says McGregor is running away from Edgar toward an easier fight is either deluded, dumb or outright lying in an attempt to get attention. The notion a fighter moving up a weight class to challenge himself against a dominant champion somehow means he’s running away from his previous division is mind-blowing to me.
I mean, this dude just knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds! And, still, the doubters are out there making fools of themselves.
Besides, Edgar’s going to get his title shot, and it will happen at UFC 200 on one of the biggest landmark events in fighting history. He’s going to get a massive payday, bigger than any other check he’s received in his entire life. All he has to do is be a little patient.
Jonathan: None of this, of course, is meant to minimize Edgar’s skill or his accomplishments. There isn’t a single fighter in the world at 145 or 155 pounds who wouldn’t need to be at their very best to beat Edgar on a good night.
Frankie has fast hands, fluid striking and a deceptively good takedown game. In many ways, these are exactly the right tools to beat McGregor.
But you know who else had the tools to beat McGregor? Aldo. And Mendes. And Holloway.
At this level, everyone is tough. McGregor, whatever his reputation, is well beyond the point of fighting cupcakes. He’ll never again step into the Octagon against a fighter who isn’t among the best of the world.
Edgar absolutely deserves our respect. But there’s no way McGregor looks at him and sees an unstoppable force he must sidestep by any means necessary. If anything, he sees a guy built to win decisions. And point fighters don’t last long against Conor’s left hand.
Jeremy: After McGregor's win over Aldo, Dana White said that McGregor's coach told him the new champion would never make 145 pounds again on the Fox Sports 1 post-fight show.
He is a giant in that division, and the weight cut is extraordinarily difficult for him, particularly now with the IV ban in effect. All you need to confirm this is to take one look at him during weigh-ins, when he looks like a mix between the Crypt Keeper and Skeletor.
So the very fact McGregor plans on defending his belt against Edgar and plans on returning to 145 one more time, should tell you all you need to know about his desire to compete. He doesn’t have to do it. He can go after the lightweight title and then perhaps even the welterweight title, fighting bigger and better opponents.
But, no. He wants to fight Edgar because he knows people are questioning whether he can win that fight or whether Edgar is too much for him.
That, more than anything, is the sign of a real fighter. He wants to take on challenges that are not even required of him. And Jonathan, it just boggles my mind that people can claim to be a fan of this sport and a fan of true fighters and not realize what is right in front of them.
Jonathan: A narrative spread far and wide last year, right after he was booked against Siver, that the UFC was “protecting” Conor. While that match was far from light work, Siver was ranked in the Top 10 at the time, it wasn’t a fight against an American wrestler.
UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby traditionally employ what they call a “wrestling test.” Before they put the full promotional muscle of the UFC behind a fighter, they make sure he can handle an amateur wrestler who will challenge his takedown defense and ability to survive on the bottom.
If a fighter can’t weather a top-control wrestler, he’s never going to have lasting success at the sport’s highest level.
When the UFC began pushing him as the promotion’s brightest new star, McGregor hadn’t yet met that challenge. People were right to be skeptical. There was a chance that he’d be demolished the first time he squared off against a fighter intent on grounding-and-pounding him.
But now we’ve seen McGregor take Mendes’ best on the mat, get right up unruffled and unbowed and put him down for good. We don’t need to rely on guesswork or rumors. He answered every question the best way a fighter can—in the cage with his fists.
Narratives need to change as the facts change.
I’ve never understood why people criticize an analyst or politician for flip-flopping as the years go by. Your opinion should change as facts shift on the ground. And in the case of Conor McGregor, the new data absolutely destroys the myths we built about favoritism and a desire to duck the hardest competition.
Conor McGregor is the rare athlete who is exactly what he claims to be. He believes he’s the toughest guy in the sport and is willing to test that boast against all comers—including Frankie Edgar.
Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter cover combat sports for Bleacher Report.
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