Love him, hate him, wonder at him or doubt him, Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the biggest draw in MMA right now.
The Notorious will take on Nate Diaz at Saturday night’s UFC 202 and could open up three divisions for the picking with an avenging victory.
McGregor is picking up between $12m-$15m [depending on pay-per-view performances] per fight, on his current contract, and should negotiate and even higher figure when he sits down with the UFC’s new owners later this year.
He has picked up legions of fans since his 2013 debut in the UFC but, at the same time, also faced criticism from healthy list of detractors.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, McGregor declared he was just passing time before he could ‘go in, march forward and throw bombs’ at Diaz. He also had a measured response when addressing the subject of receiving more criticism since his first ever UFC loss. He said:
“If I look back on [UFC 202], what did I lose? All I lost was the fight. That’s it; a fist fight on a Saturday night. I showed up, I handled myself right and… you carry on.
“Nobody in this game gets out unscathed. You look at the history of this game, this is a crazy, crazy game. Nobody gets out alive. It’s just another day.
“I’ve got to look at the contest. I was happy with it. I picked up the kitchen sink and flung it at him for two rounds, and he picked it up and flung it right back. It was a hell of a contest to be involved in. Even looking back at it, I thought ‘You know, that was a damn good fight. I can’t wait to do it again.
“People who say those things, the naysayers, that say this and that, they weren’t with me before anyway. They’re not going to be with me after I get this win back.
“I don’t pay attention to them. I’m doing something I love. I’m very financially secure doing something I love. I’m living the dream right now.”
McGregor will be hoping that the dream can get back on track when he faces off against Diaz again.
The may need to throw a bath-tub at Diaz this time.
