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MMA

15th Oct 2016

Conor McGregor reacts to teammate Charlie Ward’s upcoming UFC debut

"It's an honour"

Darragh Murphy

Dana White aside, there is probably nobody within the UFC that upcoming fighters would like to have in their corner more than Conor McGregor.

No fighter within the organisation has as much pull as ‘The Notorious’, that much is obvious, and he’s been happy to take advantage of that status in the past.

McGregor led the charge of Irish fighters into the Octagon and it was likely his close friendship with Artem Lobov that earned ‘The Russian Hammer’ a second chance on The Ultimate Fighter Season 22 after he’d lost his preliminary fight to get into the house.

And a friendship with the UFC featherweight champion looks to have benefited yet another SBG fighter as McGregor’s training partner Charlie Ward was offered a bout with the world’s pre-eminent mixed martial arts organisation.

Bare knuckle

A photo posted by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on

Ward (3-1) will meet Randy Brown (8-1) at UFC Fight Night 102 in Albany, New York in December and McGregor has suggested that the addition of Ward to the UFC roster stemmed from a recommendation from ‘The Notorious’.

“It’s an honour for me to help out loyal members of my team and then to just sit back and watch them go and achieve their dreams,” McGregor told the Mac Life. “It’s an experience that in turn motivates me right back.”

Ward lost his MMA debut last year but has since won each of his last three fights however he has less than half as many bouts under his belt than Brown, who was discovered on Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight by the UFC president.

“I’m excited for the fight and for what the future holds for Charlie and for the rest of Team McGregor,” McGregor added. “These are exciting times and we are just getting started here at McGregor Inc. Stay tuned.”

As if it was possible not to.

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