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Isaac Brekken / Associated Press
When Conor McGregor takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229, he will find himself in a rare position: that of the indifferent.
According to OddsShark, Nurmagomedov is the favorite favorite of the most famous fighters on the planet.
But there is something stranger at stake as the 6th of October approaches. McGregor may have also met his match at the microphone.
Thursday's press conference marks the first meeting of these two men since that fateful moment when McGregor, who does not think, has thrown a truck into a bus containing Nurmagomedov. (McGregor will later plead guilty to disorderly conduct.)
In this remarkably Barnumesque style, McGregor is already stoking public fires, promising entry to anyone who buys a bottle of his whiskey. There is just one problem – the event is supposed to be closed to the public – but when did anyone know McGregor to sweat the details?
The show is in town and McGregor is the master of ceremonies. In past combat seasons, this status has not been disputed. McGregor always had his man, always stole the show. He set up a lemonade stand in Jose Aldo's head. He rolled a game–but–Eddie Alvarez outclassed. He ruined Jeremy Stephens forever.
Even Nate Diaz could not hang. Diaz is a great fighter and a fun trash–talker, but in his mating duels with McGregor, he relied mainly on charisma. Everyone loves Diaz, but each salvo was a variant of "STFU" or "IDGAF" while McGregor deployed tons of targeted material. Do not pretend to play chess together.
Can McGregor go too far? You bet. Part of that slap with Diaz crossed the line. And rightly so, he became a villain in the race for his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he told Mayweather, who is black, to "dance for me, my boy".
It's disgusting and inexcusable, and McGregor does not get a pass, at least not in some circles. With many others, this does not seem to have diminished his popularity at all. This could testify to the power of its constant, largely harmless, flow to bury all other aspects of the news.
Regardless, McGregor finally encountered his garbage–talking game in Nurmagomedov. The Russian will not ignore or deflect or answer. He will do the same thing he does in the cage: look at the other man in the eye and support the fight on his own terms.
It might be easy for the uninitiated to read Nurmagomedov's last name, to take his Russian accent and to assume that he is a garbage can–Talk about a non-starter, someone who would take the box turtle's approach and repel McGregor with pure opacity. Nurmagomedov is not like that.
Like McGregor, Nurmagomedov is impetuous, self-confident, intelligent and really funny. It's not always the most politically correct people. His greatest hits deserve to be explored in detail, but it is not uncommon to hear him proclaim that he wants to beat American fighters because of US sanctions against Russia. Once, he questioned cowboy references to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Who do this?
"Cowboy is wrong," he said, by MMA Fighting. "I do not think he's really a cowboy, I think he's wrong, he drinks all the time, drunk, I do not think he's really a cowboy, I'm a cowboy." I'm a mountain guy, I train camp all my life, I fight with bears. "
The bears, you say. He also likes chickens, as in, he wants to make McGregor in the cage.
The coup d'etat, in my book, was that Nurmagomedov told a respected competitor of Michael Johnson that "you have to give up" during an active competition. As it rained on him. It's cold.
While Hand Truck Gate is still present in everyone's minds and with these ego's involved, Thursday is about as inescapable as television can not miss. Of course, the fight is the real thing, and it will be fascinating to see if Conor can connect with this deadly left or whether he has developed enough struggle to keep Nurmagomedov out of it.
There is no stationary object here. These are two irresistible forces. Someone gets transported by truck and the collision starts on Thursday.
McGregor is a great fighter and a smart guy. In Nurmagomedov, he finally has a leaf on both fronts.
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