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While MMA had many stars prior to him, no one captured fans attention quite like Conor McGregor during his prime years inside the octagon.
The Irishman must be given huge praise for the work he did under the UFC banner to help guide it to the heights it has managed to reach. Despite fighting and talking his way into global celebrity status and a subsequent crossover boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, the fame did come at a cost.
Most in the sport seek wealth and reputation, but Conor McGregor has detailed the pressure fighters feel while juggling the many aspects of combat.
“[I’ve been] doing it a long, long time,” McGregor said. “I came up through the school of the Fertitta Empire, and with Dana White at the helm, and I was the protégé.”
“I tell you this, and this is why we must really, really, really put our maximum respect and support behind our combatants in here. Because to fight as well as promote is the real deal.”
“To promote on its own is easy. And also, coincidentally, to fight on its own is easy. People don’t really realize that.”
“You get these fighters, they come up and it’s ‘no one cares about you.’ You rock in under the radar. No one asks you a question. You get to show up and have fun and do your thing, and there’s no stress of the outside world, and it’s perfect.”
“Then when you rise, you’ve got to add this promotional anom to it. And both of them combined are incredibly draining.”
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According to the man himself, Conor McGregor struggled to find a perfect mix of both the competing and promotional sides of the fight game.
“I wouldn’t be the first to tell you, it almost broke me,” McGregor stated. “To be honest, maybe it did break me as I went on and I achieved massive success and global, otherworldly superstardom.”
“It overcame me at times. So, to promote and fight at a high level deserves support and respect. And that is what I’m here for, to ensure that’s what happens.”
