Why Does The Irish Media Hate Conor Mcgregor?

Pussyhands

eeguy wrote: »

And if UFC wasn't invented he'd be doing something else.
And if the internet wasn't invented we would have this discussion.

Whataboutery isn't going to get you anywhere.

Bill Gates attributed all his success to luck.
Luck of having wealthy parents
Luck of getting a school with a computer
Luck of getting a computer with shoddy security where he could get unlimited time on it, etc etc etc.

You agree with me so.

Clegg

Axwell wrote: »

The reasons are simple why both the media and a certain percentage of the population dont like him.

1. He's involved in MMA - a lot of people do not follow the sport to the same levels they do other Irish Sports. Plenty also have their own assumptions on MMA based on what they hear on Joe Duffy or an opinion its a bloodsport or glorified cock human fighting without having ever watched a fight. But that's a discussion for another day.

2. He has a mouth, is brash, in your face and says what he thinks when in front of the camera in relation to fights. The majority of his interviews people see are online on youtube, on American tv, at press conferences or on world tours promoting fights where everything is hyped up and over the top. When he is on the Late Late Show or simialr he is a far more pleasant individual but you can count the number if times he has been interviewed on Irish media like that on one hand.

3. Where he is from, how he talks and who he grew up with. Granted as someone else pointed out other sports stars have grew up in rough areas but when when you factor in point 1 and 2 point 3 gives people an added reason to not like him.

4. We Irish love a good rant or to complain about things - sure where would boards or Joe Duffy be without it!

This thread in itself is a perfect example - loads of posts on here from people that have never posted in the MMA forum before, or at least not in the last few weeks about the McGregor Mayweather fight because they dont follow MMA or Boxing and dont have an interest in the sport. But they know who Conor McGregor is an have an opinion on him and why they dont like him, and like him or hate him as long as you are talking about him you can be sure Conor McGregor is smiling all day, every day.

I don't disagree with your post. There is somewhat of an anti MMA atmosphere in Ireland amongst people who only see it as bloodsport. But McGregor is one of the best athletes Ireland has ever produced and I think he achievements are respected somewhat.

The problem I have with your post is that it fails to mention the rather obvious reason for why people dislike the guy. He has said some horrible things and acts like a prick. Favelas, Nazi's, racial stereotypes. These remarks can't be swept under the carpet

Axwell

Clegg wrote: »

I don't disagree with your post. There is somewhat of an anti MMA atmosphere in Ireland amongst people who only see it as bloodsport. But McGregor is one of the best athletes Ireland has ever produced and I think he achievements are respected somewhat.

The problem I have with your post is that it fails to mention the rather obvious reason for why people dislike the guy. He has said some horrible things and acts like a prick. Favelas, Nazi's, racial stereotypes. These remarks can't be swept under the carpet

I am not saying they should be swept under the carpet but I don't believe that it is the primary reason people dislike him or at least wasnt to begin with. In my opinion they already disliked him on points 1-3 pretty much from the beginning of his career in the UFC and those who werent aware of him from Cage Warriors etc got their first glimpse of Conor McGregor. In the early stages of the UFC he quickly gained a huge amount of people (and media attention) who hated him for the points I made before comments like you highlighted started becoming part of his interviews, media tours and press conferences in later fights.

eeguy

Pussyhands wrote: »

You agree with me so.

I agree with you that McGregor and many others get to where they are through a combination of hard work, talent and luck.

I disagree with you when you said he should have been happy as a plumber and not chased his dreams.

TBH I don't think you even know what you're talking about any more, since you've flip flopped so many times and tried to deflect when you were caught out, resorting to strawman arguments and talking about Varadker

melty melty beautiful wickedness

MMA is barbaric and McGregor is thuggish and uncouth.

He's not a gentleman although he does wear a suit.

It's easy to dislike someone like that. He's like a missing triplet from those Pear twins!

Smiley faces on them.

A Rogue Hobo

Some of it is just people who are ill informed and ignorant about the sport of MMA and look at it as a bloodsport for thugs (but usually still enjoy boxing for whatever reason). Some of it also unfortunately is that the stereotype of us being a nation of begrudgers rings somewhat true sometimes. Instead of looking at one of our own doing great for himself financially and thinking to themselves, 'good for him, glad he's flying our flag' they instead bitterly say to themselves 'I hope he gets whats coming to him someday, the fecker'.

Sad but true.

Sofiztikated

Pussyhands wrote: »

UFC is a ****ty company anyways. It's WWE for after hours.

Name me another sport where the sportsmen competing against each other can win different amounts based on negotiation with the owner of the company?

Forget about it being "winnings" but what he earns.

When I worked in hotels, I got paid more than others at a similar level, because I worked harder, and negotiated a better contract.

You'd do the same, if you could.

Look at football, Premiership teams with at least 11 people, and each one gets paid differently, win or lose.

Is the UFC **** to work for? Possibly, maybe, I don't know. But some of that can be contributed to the fact MMA fighters aren't covered by the Ali act, like boxers are.

Could the MMA fighters form a union, and better things for themselves? Absolutely, and maybe it's needed.

Has he said some things that are dubious/****ty? Absolutely. But the latest "racist" angle, was just trying to stir **** for the sake of stirring ****.

Is he brash, and loud? Yes. No doubt about it. Should he apologise for being that way? Why should he. Cultivating that has made him rich, he's earned him and his family more than I'll ever see.

Eyes Down Field

Good aul Irish begrudgery

Straight Talker

Richard Hillman wrote: »

He makes middle ages to older people quite uncomfortable. He's not a diddly-eye Irishman that has this persona of false modesty and playing themselves down. He is a product of Celtic Tiger Ireland. A man that never lived in the begorrah times of feeling insecure and inferior to others.

It's a change of the guard and the old timers are frightened of it.

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool: btw Im under 35 so it's not just middle aged to older people.;)

eeguy

Straight Talker wrote: »

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool:

It's all an act to build hype.
He doesn't represent Ireland so he can't really be a disgrace to us.
Mayweather will probably flatten him, or they'll draw so they can redo the whole job and make more money.

Django99

Eyes Down Field wrote: »

Good aul Irish begrudgery

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

Saw a good one the other day..king of the skangers..it's a strange phenomenon though overall..just the absolute adoration..its kind of tragic..is it kind of an evolution of the whole football fanatic thing..and it's hilarious that its all because he read the secret too..anyway, yeah, I think its symptomatic of societal degeneration..

I await the chorus..

endacl

cletus wrote: »

We're living in a bubble here. The vast majority of the Irish population don't give a shït about Conor McGregor either way. He enters their consciousness in only the most oblique of manners, if at all.

I sat at a table yesterday with six work colleagues , male and female and a variety of ages. Talk of the fight came up, mostly centered around the money being made. I was asked my opinion on the fight, but unanimously they declared mma not a real sport, too barbaric etc.

Regarding the media, their job is to sell content to the public, so that content mirrors the interest of that public

That'd be me. Overwhelmed with indifference. Best of luck to him, but only really in the 'best of luck to anybody I don't know doing something I'm not really interested in' sense. Don't really have an opinion on the 'barbaric' bit. If the lads want to bate lumps off each other, let them at it.

It's kinda the new football. All the young fellas are mad for it and getting silly haircuts.

wonderfullife

Straight Talker wrote: »

He's a mouthy obnoxious arrogant little so and so.A disgrace to this country.Hopefully Mayweather will make short work of him, and put him back in his box fairly lively.:cool: btw Im under 35 so it's not just middle aged to older people.;)

So you're cheering for a guy with a string of domestic violence arrests? The guy who kicked the mother of his children in the face in front of the children and went to jail? The guy who beat the crap out of 2 female friends of his girlfriend?

Anyway, Conor won't "be put back in his box" in defeat. He is humble in victory and defeat, has faced defeats many times before. He has the 3rd fastest growing social media of any sportsperson on the planet behind only Messi and Ronaldo so he's going absolutely nowhere win, lose or draw.

It says a lot about people's irrational disliking of Conor that they'd rather cheer for a domestic-abuser.

A Rogue Hobo

Django99 wrote:

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

That's more to do with Mayweather's more than dubious past more than anything else. He's not exactly a role model. Plus also the amount of Irish that are there, and expats and Americans that identify themselves as part Irish through their family tree. Also Americans love a charismatic showman, look at Ali or Shaq. Like or hate McGregor you can't deny him of his charisma and showmanship.

NIMAN

For someone they supposedly hate, they give him some amount of coverage and column inches.

17togo

wonderfullife wrote:

People don't even bother to scratch the surface of his character and see the tremendous loyalty, kindness, humility, sacrifice and dedication in the man, all they want to see are the fight promotion antics which serve a very practical purpose in a sport where more people watching translates to more income to bring in for his family.

But this personal and antics are what the majority of us have to base our opinion on. This is the persona he has put out there and that's what he and his fans have to accept is what he's gonna be judged on. We can't rock up to his gaff when the cameras are off and chat to him and see what he's really like. Granted I know he doesn't give a rats arse what we think of him.

Since he came on the scene I've juggled with my opinion of him. After his first fight I thought he was class and very entertaining, but as he progressed he just got more insulting towards opponents. I understand this was his way of getting the big fights and paydays but I still found it hard to like. Riding on horseback into the favela and murdering people, looks like you had a stroke- aldo, I could rest my balls on your head - Mendes, midget German steroid head - siver and then all the mayweather stuff. Again I understand this is his persona for getting paid, but it's what he has to be judged on also.

With regards mainstream media I'd imagine it's a role model thing. He is not the type of guy they want to be promoting for younger audiences. I have 4 kids and I wouldn't want them listening to the way he talks to his opponents, opponents who have sacrificed as much if not more than him to be where they are but are just not willing to sell themselves in that way.

So in conclusion :-) ....... I don't like him, because of his persona. He's an exceptionally talented fighter and an animal of an athlete but I want to see him get beat, just to shut him up. Not because he's from Crumlin or Dublin or leinster. But just to shut him up, for a while. And I know mayweather is a scumbag but we won't have to listen to him as he's across the pond.

Axwell

Lads I would suggest some of you familiarise yourself with the charter particularly points on fighter bashing and trolling. Have an opinion and discuss it by all means but if you come in just to start calling fighters names you will be leaving as quickly..

Django99

A Rogue Hobo wrote: »

That's more to do with Mayweather's more than dubious past more than anything else. He's not exactly a role model. Plus also the amount of Irish that are there, and expats and Americans that identify themselves as part Irish through their family tree. Also Americans love a charismatic showman, look at Ali or Shaq. Like or hate McGregor you can't deny him of his charisma and showmanship.

To be honest I wasn't just trying to make the point that not liking someone's character (which is basically what McGregor and Mayweather are) does not mean begrudgery. It's a pet peeve of mine that anything negative said about successful Irish people is labelled as begrudgery.

I find myself somewhat in the middle as regards McGregor. I don't love him or hate him.

I respect his brilliant talent in MMA, I respect his showmanship which has gotten him a lot of respect and fame. I think he can come out with some good lines and his self belief and confidence is admirable.

However, I don't think he's a genius which is a word often used to describe him. I don't think he's as good an MMA fighter as some people believe, as he has weaknesses like pretty much all fighters do.

I don't really like what this Mayweather fight stands for and it annoys me that a fight like this will overshadow so many genuinely intriguing MMA or boxing mathches that are taking place either side of this fight.

I feel that the Irish media don't seem to like McGregor comes down to a few things. The main one being his brash personality, which is something we are not used to, and the Irish media don't really like new things. Also they don't seem to be fans of MMA in general which clearly doesn't help.

Outlaw Pete

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

A few curse words and a load of shouting does not make somebody interesting.

If that's all you're basing your judgement of him on.......then it's no wonder you feel the way you do about him.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

If that's all you're basing your judgement of him on.......then it's no wonder you feel the way you do about him.

That generally all I've heard from him.

Dirty Dingus McGee

mdwexford wrote: »

Try and educate yourself a bit if you are going to comment.

Remember just because you find him interesting doesn't mean everyonr else has to.

Every time I've heard him speak he's been unbeleivably obnoxious.

Why has he acted like such a jackass in the build up to the fight or in the build up to the fight against Aldo aswell.

if you act like he does beleive it or not a lot of people aren't going to like him because of it.

CalamariFritti

Justified or not some of martial arts sports has more than a whiff of unrefined, lowly, a crude spectacle for the great unwashed. And MMA would definitely be considered in the rougher end of things as opposed to say judo or classic boxing for example. Combine that with the loudness, brashness, rude in-your-faceness displayed during off stage antics and I can see how a great portion of society would find it hard to identify with that.

Then with this particular fight there is also the element of pure circus. One of them isn't even a proper boxer of any kind of stature. Are they even in the same weight class properly? They're putting it on for the money alone and hype it to the hilt when from a sporting perspective it seems really a nothing event. Like a pre season match between Real Madrid and Boca Juniors played in LA. Sounds great on paper but who cares really.

By the way to some degree I'm only being devils advocate. I wouldn't diss anyone for liking it but personally I would be indifferent about it. He's definitely not a huge sportsman or celebrity in my world. I'd have about as much interest in it as I would have in figure skating.

neonsofa

Jesus I'm a mother in my late twenties and if I'm wearing sweats I'll tuck them into my socks, now admittedly I don't wear them outside the house (bar getting into the car to do drop offs for family). It's to keep warm, that's all. I know he does it out and about but Tbf he is a celeb just like the rest and many of them go around in the most ridiculous fashion and nobody judges their character for it. He's rough around the edges and he puts on an act but he's not harming people, he is doing something he loves, getting money for it and living life how he probably always dreamed to. Im not a fan of his or the sport, i personally find it is over super quick which baffles me for all the hype prior but that's just me. I also think he's extremely witty when not in all out persona mode.

Eyes Down Field

Django99 wrote: »

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

Correction. They can't stand to see a black American be successful. Especially a guy who bases his public image on flaunting the fruits of his labour.

walshb

This thread makes the boxing and MMA thread on the fight appear so classy!

threein99

He's an arrogant mouth piece ? what is there to like ?

Birdie Num Num

Richard Hillman wrote: »

He makes middle ages to older people quite uncomfortable. He's not a diddly-eye Irishman that has this persona of false modesty and playing themselves down. He is a product of Celtic Tiger Ireland. A man that never lived in the begorrah times of feeling insecure and inferior to others.

It's a change of the guard and the old timers are frightened of it.

He is the epitome of the modern diddly-eye Irishman and happy to be the stereotype. I agree a product of the crassly phrased Celtic Tiger Ireland and he represents the bullsh*t fighting Irish, crassly cocky, 'that's not how you pull a pint a Guinness, this is how you pull a pint a Guinness' brigade.

weldoninhio

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Both Conor McGregor and Mixed Martial Arts have divided people into groups of fanatic fans and fanatic opponents. And then there's the media!

The media as we know handpick certain individuals they will push all the way. They will either ignore or criticise others. CMcG does not fit with what the Irish media want which is tameness and blandness. Tame boybands, tame modern country music trash, etc. is what they want to portray and they find cute little sports-stars like the O'Donovans who too hold a cleancut image. One thing CMcG is not is bland and cleancut. He is the polar opposite and is therefore the opposite to what current Irish media sell. Because he is the polar opposite, I have to say I like CMcG overall. Flawed he is certainly but he worked hard with little media support to get where he is.

Bull****. Colin Farrell was never out of the papers when he was drinking, f*cking and partying around the States.

realdanbreen

ooter wrote: »

If he spoke with a country accent and said things like "pull like a dog" and shteak and shpuds" and never actually won anything they'd probably love him and ministers and the fourth estate would be meeting him coming off the plane.

But he doesn't speak with a country accent he speaks with an accent that you might overhear while your home is being burgled or your phone is being robbed. Also I don't recall hearing the O'Donovan brothers ever being childishly racist, 'dance for me boy' or ' I'm Black from the bellybutton down'.
In fact I cannot recall an Irish sportsman that was so despised by his own people and that is down to McGregor himself.

weldoninhio

Axwell wrote: »

I am not saying they should be swept under the carpet but I don't believe that it is the primary reason people dislike him or at least wasnt to begin with. In my opinion they already disliked him on points 1-3 pretty much from the beginning of his career in the UFC and those who werent aware of him from Cage Warriors etc got their first glimpse of Conor McGregor. In the early stages of the UFC he quickly gained a huge amount of people (and media attention) who hated him for the points I made before comments like you highlighted started becoming part of his interviews, media tours and press conferences in later fights.

I disagree, when he first joined the UFC he was brash, funny and quick-witted. That turned into a nasty streak as he got bigger and bigger. And it's kept getting nastier and nastier ever since.

cletus

Whatever about how the media view McGregor, he sure does a good job of bringing out the worst in boards posters, on both sides of the argument

kilns

The simple fact is if he was a decent humble guy he would never have the profile he does now and would have never been allowed share a ring with Mayweather, he is great at selling a fight.  He is not even the best pound for pound fighter in UFC but he is the best fight seller by a mile
He creates headlines because of what he does and what he says, I hope its all an act cause if its real I dont blame anyone for hating him. 
The ESPN article was embarrassing and an insult to Crumlin

ooter

cletus wrote: »

Denigrating the achievements or personalities of other Irish sports people does nothing to raise McGregor's likability, and in unnecessary imo

In my opinion, finishing anywhere other than 1st in an event is not an achievement, but we do moral victories well in this country.

realdanbreen

Django99 wrote: »

However bad Irish begrudgery supposedly is, American begrudgery must be through the roof! Millions of Americans hate Mayweather and are cheering for McGregor, all because they can't stand to see another American be successful!

I think it might be more to do with Mayweather having done time for beating his woman. It doesn't say much for McGregor that half of Ireland is hoping a convicted American woman beater will knock McGregor unconscious.

martingriff

I don't like McGregor it's not because he is successful it is not because he is rich or it is not because we hate to see a successful Irish person. I just don't like his persona how he acts. I remember when he was starting out himself and 2 other MMA fighters came on the Late Late Show.

All had there persona but when asked about MMA the 2 answered to get fans McGregor was al me me me how I will knock people's block off. He had not even fought in UFC yet

ooter

wonderfullife wrote: »

The treatment of Annalise Murphy and the O' Donovans last summer shows where we are as a media and as a nation.

We celebrate losers. We always have and always will.

They all received pretty substantial funding from Sport Ireland to compete in obscure niche sports in the Olympics. They went out there, they competed and they lost. So, they come home to massive parties in Dublin and Cork, to Late Late Show appearances, to magazine covers and everyone has a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It's a love-in from the media and the public.

To quote Conor from 2014:

"But you said congratulations I'm now No. 9, if you think I celebrate being No. 9 you're highly mistaken my friend".

Just over 2 years later he was the featherweight world champion, 3 years later the lightweight world champion. No funding along the way, no leg-ups or assistance from the government just sheer determination.

People don't even bother to scratch the surface of his character and see the tremendous loyalty, kindness, humility, sacrifice and dedication in the man, all they want to see are the fight promotion antics which serve a very practical purpose in a sport where more people watching translates to more income to bring in for his family.

Conor's a winner. The O' Donovans are losers. Annalise Murphy is a loser. Come back to me in 2020 when they win gold at the Olympics and I'll be the first to congratulate them.

In the meantime, the media can continue to celebrate losers and people can continue to dislike Conor, while he's busy winning and inspiring a whole generation of younger people to work hard to chase their own impossible dreams.

Excellent post.

Birdie Num Num

wonderfullife wrote: »

Conor's a winner. The O' Donovans are losers. Annalise Murphy is a loser. Come back to me in 2020 when they win gold at the Olympics and I'll be the first to congratulate them.

Put Conor McGregor in a competitive situation where he can't pick and choose who is opponent is and then come back to me. It's less than a year since he was saying he doesn't need Mayweather. He didn't need a job as plumber either and choose to go on the dole to concentrate on what he does. He didn't lose his job, trawl the country for work before that option. Athletes have gone to the Olympics as bus conductors and performed. One even went as a soldier and came back with a gold medal 25 years ago. What McGregor has done is made a lot of money. Even if he wins tomorrow, which he should, against an ex boxer it doesn't really mean a lot except more cash in his pocket.

realdanbreen

ooter wrote: »

In my opinion, finishing anywhere other than 1st in an event is not an achievement, but we do moral victories well in this country.

In achievement terms A lot of people would regard coming first in a 'sport' like cage fighting as pretty much the same as being the owner of a winning Pitbull terrier. I would have way more respect for a champion bare knuckle fighter than I would for a champion cage fighter.

BillyBobBS

threein99 wrote: »

He's an arrogant mouth piece ? what is there to like ?

I dunno maybe the fact he a self made multi millionaire and well on his way to being the most successful Irish sportsperson ever?

He is where he is today because he's a marketing genius. Some people are never happy, if he was still on the dole living in the box room in mammies house people would be moaning and yet here's a guy who's gone and done what he's done inspiring literally hundreds of kids to get off the couch away from the X Box and get down the gym and be active.

I think because he's rough around the edges and doesn't speak in a put on American D4 accent it upsets the Montrose media circle jerk. And that makes me very happy indeed

cletus

ooter wrote: »

In my opinion, finishing anywhere other than 1st in an event is not an achievement, but we do moral victories well in this country.

Really? A silver medal in the Olympics is not an achievement? What about Paddy Barnes' bronze? Or Sonia O'Sullivan's Silver?

I get the Roy Keane take on being there to make up the numbers, but medalling in the Olympics not being an achievement is a stretch, even for this thread

weldoninhio

BillyBobBS wrote: »

I dunno maybe the fact he a self made multi millionaire and well on his way to being the most successful Irish sportsperson ever?

He is where he is today because he's a marketing genius. Some people are never happy, if he was still on the dole living in the box room in mammies house people would be moaning and yet here's a guy who's gone and done what he's done inspiring literally hundreds of kids to get off the couch away from the X Box and get down the gym and be active.

I think because he's rough around the edges and doesn't speak in a put on American D4 accent it upsets the Montrose media circle jerk. And that makes me very happy indeed

Have you got a link to this Irish sportspersons success scale??

threein99

BillyBobBS wrote: »

I dunno maybe the fact he a self made multi millionaire and well on his way to being the most successful Irish sportsperson ever?

He is where he is today because he's a marketing genius. Some people are never happy, if he was still on the dole living in the box room in mammies house people would be moaning and yet here's a guy who's gone and done what he's done inspiring literally hundreds of kids to get off the couch away from the X Box and get down the gym and be active.

I think because he's rough around the edges and doesn't speak in a put on American D4 accent it upsets the Montrose media circle jerk. And that makes me very happy indeed

All valid points but none of those disprove my arrogant mouth piece comment. His sporting ability can't be disputed I just can't warm to someone who performs like he does in those 'Press Conference' tours.

Gravelly

I wouldn't be a McGregor fan by any means, and the persona he projects certainly isn't designed to ingratiate him with people. However I have a huge amount of respect for what he has achieved. He is one of the most dedicated sportspeople I know (and I know a bit about the dedication required to be good at a sport), and he works himself as hard as any sportsperson I've seen. His rebound after losing to Diaz says it all. I doubt his personality in real life is as brash and confrontational as the one he uses to sell his fights - he is, at the end of the day, just using the same tactics to sell himself and his fights as many did in the boxing world before him, most notably Ali. I hope he wins against Mayweather, even though I am much more of a boxing fan than an MMA fan. McGregor is Irish, and, aside from rubbing people up the wrong way, seems like a harmless guy outside the ring. Mayweather isn't Irish, and is a scumbag outside the ring.

Dantian

He's a character produced by a savvy individual with a good management team - few sporting figures and fewer boxers are remembered simply for being 'good' because no matter how good you are, there is someone better - you WILL be beaten eventually - you'll get too old, too slow, too broken to fight and your career will be over.

By creating a character of this cheeky 'you know nattin' full of himself showman, he is creating a product that will be wanted long after he is done fighting. Someone that will have his own sports show, or do the dinner circuit because people want to see how outrageous he is in person. Like this fight - he ISN'T going to beat Mayweather or at least the chances are SUPER slim. But either way - it's a crowd drawing fight, with lots of hype and 'story' behind it more like WWE wrestling than competative martial arts - and if he somehow manages to win -well...that'll gaurantee his place.

It's bloody genius! I'm not a fan of MMA, or indeed boxing (imo it's still 2 brains and 4 fists in a race to early onset parkinsons) but I can respect the way he is handling his career. Either he isn't the fisty rapscallion he appears at fights and he's incredibly business savy OR he has some very good representation who knows how to make a product that lasts. Fair play to him

ooter

realdanbreen wrote: »

But he doesn't speak with a country accent he speaks with an accent that you might overhear while your home is being burgled or your phone is being robbed.

And that's it in a nutshell.

Wanderer78

BillyBobBS wrote:

He is where he is today because he's a marketing genius. Some people are never happy, if he was still on the dole living in the box room in mammies house people would be moaning and yet here's a guy who's gone and done what he's done inspiring literally hundreds of kids to get off the couch away from the X Box and get down the gym and be active.

Marketing is a form of manipulation, it's not our proudest creation, it certainly shouldn't be applauded. I will agree though that he has inspired many, and I wish him the best, but genius certainly isn't a term I'd use to describe him. only certain humans are truly worthy of that title, and they are few and far between

kilns

wonderfullife wrote: »

whippet wrote: »

Yeah ... those lads from cork have achieved nothing !!

Actually they are genuinely nice guys, tell a good story and people warm to them due to their achievements and personalities... McGregor on the other hand is just the total opposite with regards to personality.

The treatment of Annalise Murphy and the O' Donovans last summer shows where we are as a media and as a nation.

We celebrate losers. We always have and always will.

They all received pretty substantial funding from Sport Ireland to compete in obscure niche sports in the Olympics. They went out there, they competed and they lost. So, they come home to massive parties in Dublin and Cork, to Late Late Show appearances, to magazine covers and everyone has a warm fuzzy feeling inside. It's a love-in from the media and the public.

To quote Conor from 2014:

"But you said congratulations I'm now No. 9, if you think I celebrate being No. 9 you're highly mistaken my friend".

Just over 2 years later he was the featherweight world champion, 3 years later the lightweight world champion. No funding along the way, no leg-ups or assistance from the government just sheer determination.

People don't even bother to scratch the surface of his character and see the tremendous loyalty, kindness, humility, sacrifice and dedication in the man, all they want to see are the fight promotion antics which serve a very practical purpose in a sport where more people watching translates to more income to bring in for his family.

Conor's a winner. The O' Donovans are losers. Annalise Murphy is a loser. Come back to me in 2020 when they win gold at the Olympics and I'll be the first to congratulate them.

In the meantime, the media can continue to celebrate losers and people can continue to dislike Conor, while he's busy winning and inspiring a whole generation of younger people to work hard to chase their own impossible dreams.

So when McGregor loses on Saturday to Mayweather you will call him a loser too?
Or when he lost to Nate Diaz was he a loser too?

ooter

cletus wrote: »

Really? A silver medal in the Olympics is not an achievement? What about Paddy Barnes' bronze? Or Sonia O'Sullivan's Silver?

I get the Roy Keane take on being there to make up the numbers, but medalling in the Olympics not being an achievement is a stretch, even for this thread

Probably an achievement to those individuals but at the end of the day they lost, people may choose to celebrate that but I wouldn't.

Dantian

kilns wrote: »

So when McGregor loses on Saturday to Mayweather you will call him a loser too?
Or when he lost to Nate Diaz was he a loser too?

NOT AT ALL! Not even sure how you got that from what I said.

He will lose, because thems the breaks - but it was a bloody smart move to have the fight at all!!

He could have made a career 'undefeated' having boring fights against guys he KNEW he could beat but having these BIG 'grudge matches' or taking on boxers like Mayweather when he himself isnt a professional boxer is effing balsy and a great business move for him.

professional atheletes win and lose all the time because thats the nature of their job, like stockbrokers making money and losing money but McGregor has transitioned from sportsman to business man and thats how you go from being rich to wealthy.