Conor McGregor’s success isn’t owed to natural talent, but his work ethic and determination, according to ‘The Notorious’ himself.
Prior to his UFC debut, Conor McGregor’s future success was unforeseen. In fact, even today, the heights he reached have never been replicated. They haven’t even come close to being replicated, and the Irishman believes that the most important ingredients to his historic run were hard work and confidence.
Conor McGregor reveals the attitude behind his success
Conor McGregor is one of the most important figures in modern MMA. Without him, there would not have been an explosion of fighters trying to become simultaneous two-division UFC champions. He was, after all, the first to do so, having held both the promotion’s featherweight and lightweight titles back in 2016. The popularity of the accomplishment even extended into other promotions that never prioritized it prior to McGregor’s ascension. However, all of the wins, knockouts, and record-setting pay-per-view buys didn’t come down to natural talent. McGregor believes everything he has accomplished has been a product of his approach to training and fighting.
“I’m not talented. I’m obsessed. They see the walkouts and the knockouts. They don’t see the work — the early mornings, the setbacks, the decision to show up when quitting would have been easier. I didn’t wait to feel ready. I decided to become ready. Back yourself. Do the work. Be obsessed.”
This is just the second reflection McGregor has done about his career in recent memory. While he once did what no fighter has ever managed, he now appears to be on the decline and has become a magnet for controversies. He hasn’t been on a win streak since 2016, when he returned to MMA from a 10th-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the pair’s historic boxing match. He then faced Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in a bid to reclaim his lightweight title in a heated grudge match. Rather than triumphing over his bitter rival, McGregor was dominated and submitted in round four.
He followed the loss by facing Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, who he annihilated with a first-round TKO at UFC 246. That, however, was a ‘Cowboy’ who was already on a two-fight losing streak, and would fail to find victory in his next four fights. For McGregor, the win was a short-lived success, as he then suffered two back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier, getting TKO’d in round two at UFC 257, before snapping his shin in a round one TKO loss in their rubber match at UFC 264.
After five years away, he returned to face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 329, only to tear his ACL and meniscus, losing via TKO in round one. He’s now 38, 1-4 in his last five fights, and on the final fight of his UFC contract in what is proving to be a deflating end to a once white hot career.
