Conor McGregor did not lose any of his brave

LAS VEGAS – He was finally there, strutting on the stage, a bottle of whiskey raised in one hand and his chest swollen to the rafters. It was 3:26 pm, almost half an hour after his scheduled arrival at the press conference prior to UFC 229, although most participants understood that Conor McGregor was working as planned. zoned. And then the crowd roared. And then the cameras flashed. And so, he smiled, flexed, handed the whiskey to UFC President Dana White, and grabbed a microphone even before sitting down.

"WHAT'S NEW IRELAND? The Irish are back in the city, I … I like it.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "No arguments there.These same compatriots had spun Sin City when McGregor locked up Floyd Mayweather last August and that they were back now, flying tricolor flags and sporting green shamrock jerseys, their fists shut and their chants led. olé! olé! olé! each time, their beloved fighter gasped. It was an overwhelming sight for any uninitiated observer on Thursday afternoon inside the Park Theater, which has 5,200 seats, but which was a routine for sports enthusiasts. After all, no one is doing show, not even here in Las Vegas, as the man nicknamed Notorious. "Traffic is a bit heavy," he said when he entered. "There must be a battle of McGregor." "Data-reactid =" 18 "> No arguments there. These same compatriots had invaded Sin City when McGregor had locked up Floyd Mayweather last August and they were back, beating tricolor and sports flags. clover green rugby jerseys, clenching their fists and singing olé! olé! olé! each time, their beloved fighter gasped. It was an overwhelming sight for any uninitiated observer on Thursday afternoon inside the Park Theater, which has 5,200 seats, but which was a routine for sports enthusiasts. After all, no one is doing show, not even here in Las Vegas, as the man nicknamed Notorious. "Traffic is a bit heavy," he said when he entered. "There must be a McGregor fight going on."

Oh, is there ever. Technically, the sportsbook ranks McGregor, 30, as outsider of the main tournament on Saturday night against the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, 30, the expert of the grapple of Daghestani undefeated for 26 career matches and who has never lost a ride. Again, he should have an appreciable octagon advantage at the T-Mobile arena, judging by the boos – and the major, and other obscene gestures – that covered the conference portion of Nurmagomedov's press while McGregor was still in transit. Irritated by the lack of punctuality of his opponent, Nurmagomedov answered questions for 12 minutes, before focusing on weighing Friday morning, a shimmering title belt hanging on his shoulder.

"Good," said White, suddenly flanked by two empty tables and a pregnant silence. "It's embarrassing."

Not for a long time. As his entourage sat behind a cord of velvet in the front row, McGregor touched on various topics. He has plugged his new alcohol label, Proper Twelve, which has recently become an official sponsor of the UFC 229. ("Who's on the whiskey? Only a few hours and I'll be there with you!") He fought for larger weight classes, hoping that one day he could fight at 165 pounds and capture that championship too. ("That would make it pay more juicy per view, I think we could sit down and solve the problem and we could find a solution.")

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "He felt that he would reach the status of Billionaire by age 35 and predicted that he would earn $ 50 million by fighting Nurmagomedov alone ("A good performance .It's amazing."). He diverted the comparison that White had made between his tactics of "mental warfare" and that of Muhammad Ali. He is not close to the grandeur of this man, he is a special individual. ") He plugged in more whiskey, counting up to three and directing his followers in a unified song of the type" F — THE JAMESON BROTHERS! "cajole another round of olé! olé! Olé!"Data-reactid =" 22 "> He estimated that he would reach billionaire status at the age of 35 and planned to earn $ 50 million when he was fighting alone Nurmagomedov. (" A good It's amazing. ") He diverted White's comparison between his" mental war "tactics and Muhammad Ali's tactics (" I'm not even close to the size of this man. "He is an individual Special. ") He hooked up a little more whiskey, counting three and directing his followers in a unified chant of" F — THE JAMESON BROTHERS! "He waved his arms, persuading another turn of olé! olé! Olé!

Above all, McGregor sprinkled more marinade on his beef with Nurmagomedov. A bit of background: Earlier this year, Nurmagomedov confronted one of UFC's closest companions, McGregor, Artem Lobov, about comments about Nurmagomedov's injuries. This led McGregor – still on sabbatical at MMA Mayweather Bonanza – crashed at the UFC 223 press conference at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and emerged on a criminal charge after thrown a metal dolly through the window of a bus. At the time, White had told reporters that McGregor's actions were "the most disgusting thing in the history of the company." Four months later, McGregor against Nurmagomedov was officially announced.

The bad blood has only gotten thicker since then. Another interview at Radio City Music Hall on September 20 was closed to the public for security reasons. This did not, however, prevent McGregor from taunting Nurmagomedov's strict Muslim religion, tearing his Russian political ties and describing him as "a fool, a backward fellow." This same insult was repeated several times on Thursday – thankfully after Nurmagomedov's departure – with a battery of beards. To witness it:

The story continues