“I’m the first but I’m going to kick in the door.”
You could never accuse Conor McGregor of lacking in confidence.
Even before he fought in the Octagon with the UFC, McGregor was a two-weight champion with Cage Warriors. He was a UFC calibre fighter, even if he had not fought in the UFC… yet.
A fascinating interview with McGregor and the lads from Jabb shows the Irishman in top form and rocking a Beatles t-shirt. ‘The Notorious’ was one day out from his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage at UFC Stockholm.
While acknowledging that anything could happen in the fight game, McGregor predicted a short night of it against Brimage. Asked if he wanted a Fight of the Night bonus, McGregor shook his head and declared such a bonus would mean he was in a real scrap.
No, he wanted to finish Brimage quickly. “I’m not looking to take part,” he proclaimed, “I’m looking to dominate.”
McGregor was joined on the couch by fellow fighters Frank Trigg and Bruno Carvalho and allowed the retired UFC welterweight to field a question on Ireland’s fighting spirit. Trigg said:
“Their establishment as a country was a fight to begin with and they’ve been fighting ever since; they’ve been fighting their entire lives.”
When Trigg recalled his frequent trips over to Dublin, McGregor jumped in:
“I seen you a few years ago. I saw you outside of a nightclub and was like, ‘Yeah, Frank Trigg man’.
Laughing, Trigg asks, ‘Was it in Temple Bar? Was I standing or on my knees?!’ McGregor replied:
“Yeah it was in Temple Bar. I was like ‘Yes, Frank!’ and getting in a picture [with you].”
The next night, McGregor went out and defeated Brimage within 67 seconds. His star has since rocketed in the past four years.
It has been some journey and it’s not over yet.
