ABU DHABI – Conor McGregor sides with his coach, John Kavanagh, that any concerns about his endurance going into UFC 257 are overblown, and he hopes Dustin Poirier can push him to the point of proving it.
Since his loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March 2016, there’s been a narrative around McGregor that he hits a wall if fights go long enough. Poirier and his team have come out ahead of fight night with the thinking the Irishman has a “weakness in conditioning,” but Kavanagh said Thursday that’s “false hope.”
McGregor doubled down on that, and though he admitted he had a flaw in what was his first octagon loss to Diaz nearly five years ago, he said that it’s still held against him is a mistake.
“I think it’s a myth,” McGregor told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Thursday’s UFC 257 pre-fight news conference. “Obviously I had the first Diaz fight. I went from featherweight, then a month or so later I was at welterweight. That’s obviously going to have impact. Then there was other issues. But overall, I think it’s a myth. It’s a myth that’s out there, and I hope we can answer it – and I will answer it in time, at some stage. Sometime, I’m showing up here and someone’s going to be able to stay in the pocket with me and stay in there and fight with me, and I hope it’s this Saturday night. Do I think so? I do not. I’m in some shape at the minute and I tell you this now: I am coming to put on a masterpiece.”
McGregor, who rematches Poirier in the lightweight headliner, has predicted a knockout in the fight in less than a minute. He put Poirier away inside two minutes at UFC 178 in September 2014, and he wonders if “The Diamond” will be able to stand up to his shots this time around.
“I got him out of there in 90 seconds the first time, so I’m not that far off,” McGregor said. “That’s a complete confidence in my preparation and in my abilities. I know there’s questions about my abilities. I know he’s heavier and on a different weight and more experienced, but I feel I can do it. … I believe I can get him out there and possibly hit him early, but I am hoping for a good, long bout.”
If McGregor is able to get his hand raised in the fashion he expects, he foresees a busy and prosperous year ahead, with many potential fights of intrigue on the table.
“We’ve got three or four men up here, and they’re all potential opponents,” McGregor said. “We’ve got three up here (Poirier, Dan Hooker and Michael Chandler). We’ve got Max (Holloway) skateboarding back in the hallway back at the hotel. I’m very excited to see how the bout goes in the co-main event. Both men know the magnitude.”
Conor McGregor says cardio issues a myth, promises ‘masterpiece’ at UFC 257