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ABU DHABI – Conor McGregor’s fights mean a lot of money, not only for the Irish star herself, but also for her opponent.
For McGregor’s opponents, the excitement of being associated with the biggest draw in mixed martial arts history wears off once it’s time to conquer the task at hand, however, according to the former. UFC light and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
“The guys that Conor (is) fighting, nobody thinks, ‘I had the fight against Conor and I’m good,'” Cormier said at a pre-fight press conference at UFC 257. Thursday. “These guys are way too good. Because at the end of the day, he’s fighting the best of the best.
McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) recently fought at UFC 246 in January 2020 when he beat former UFC lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone by TKO in 40 seconds . Much was subsequently done about Cerrone’s motivation for the fight – especially when he got into the cage.
“The reality is that former Donald Cerrone would never have lost to Conor McGregor in (40) seconds,” Cormier said. “There was a time when Donald Cerrone said he was too small to fight at lightweight. He beat him at welterweight. Even for a longtime veteran like ‘Cowboy,’ Conor McGregor’s appeal caught him.
Cormier believes that not all of McGregor’s opponents can be judged based on Cerrone’s performance. Going forward, the clashes that await McGregor at the top of the division are made up of opponents who know what’s at stake, Cormier explained.
“You have to talk about ‘Cowboy’ because I don’t think the guys he’s going to fight with in the future will ever feel like, ‘Oh, the victory is already won. I’m here with Conor McGregor, ”Cormier said. “Because when you’re there with Conor, he’s trying to fight you.” He’s not trying to let you win. He’s trying to knock your head off.
According to Cormier, Dustin Poirier, who will face McGregor as the headliner of UFC 257 on Saturday, knows what he’s getting into. While Poirier (26-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) can’t win, Cormier is confident “The Diamond” will have a good head on his shoulders.
“Dustin Poirier doesn’t feel happy to be here,” Cormier said. “I saw Al Iaquinta say something like this some time ago: ‘Dustin shows too much respect’. But this kid, man. This kid is from Lafayette, Louisiana, and he’s a dog. He will fight with all his heart. He might not win all the time, but you watch Dustin fight, he’s a nasty son of a gun, man. And he wants to fight and he shows up. He will fight Conor to the best of his ability. I don’t know if he will win. But he will fight it hard. He will fight it as hard as possible.
UFC 257 takes place on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The main card airs on ESPN + pay-per-view after preliminaries on ESPN / ESPN +.
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