{"id":103,"date":"2022-03-26T17:13:08","date_gmt":"2022-03-26T17:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/?p=103"},"modified":"2023-02-06T17:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T17:52:55","slug":"usman-mcgregor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/usman-mcgregor\/","title":{"rendered":"McGregor \u2018eyeing\u2019 Usman"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year without Conor McGregor<\/strong> seems to have left a void of drama-filled smack talk in the MMA world. But McGregor is making sure it quickly fills back in again as the Irishman is chomping at the bit to break out of recovery and get back into fights. His latest comments have called out welterweight champion Kamaru Usman<\/strong>, who has all but laughed off McGregor\u2019s insults. <\/p>\n

Dublin, Ireland\u2019s champion fighter<\/a>, McGregor (22-6) is beginning to emerge again in the MMA circuit. Being the first fighter in history to simultaneously hold two division titles doesn\u2019t appear to be all he is recognized for. He has his eyes set on further building his legacy \u2014 earning three titles in three different divisions, which he has dubbed the \u201cTriple Crown.\u201d <\/p>\n

Having been in nearly nine months of rehab, McGregor hasn\u2019t been in an official MMA contest since he suffered his first-round TKO defeat to Dustin Poirier. During the fight in July 2021, he broke both his left tibia and fibula bones. But he has slowly worked his way back through rehabilitation. With the return of his fighting ability, his smack-talk ability is coming back as strong as ever, too. <\/p>\n

His mouth leading the way, McGregor recently took aim at Usman, who is 20-1. In recent comments in an interview in his hometown pub, the Black Forge Inn, The Notorious has made it clear he wants to face Usman this summer. Usman is recovering from hand surgery, but is expected to be prepared for a fight in the next few months. <\/p>\n

McGregor left no mystery to where he is focused.<\/h2>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to waltz my way back into a title, no doubt about it,\u201d McGregor said. \u201cI want that gold belt, I\u2019m going to get that world title with the Irish tricolor emblazoned on it. I\u2019m the reason that tricolor is on the UFC world title.\u201d <\/p>\n

All that really needs to be decided is which weight class to compete in. McGregor said he doesn\u2019t see himself going back down to 155. His bulky appearance in the interview doesn\u2019t suggest that\u2019s where he\u2019s looking to be, either. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lifting and not cutting calories. This is my natural state. I could go bigger, to be honest,\u201d McGregor said. \u201cI\u2019m boiling 170 and don\u2019t want to go above 170. I\u2019m big. I feel strong. I feel healthy. I\u2019ve got good energy.\u201d <\/p>\n

He believes some of his best performances have been achieved at this stage and he\u2019s able to think and move clearly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe myself against Usman for the 175, 170 title for my comeback fight is the one I\u2019m eyeballing at the minute. I feel confident against Usman.\u201d <\/p>\n

Then the smack talk begins, with the Notorious calling Usman a \u201cjab-happy, sloppy orthodox wrestler with no submissions whatsoever.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s he going to do? Where\u2019s the danger? His ground-to-pound isn\u2019t strong. Plus, he\u2019s on the older side,\u201d McGregor said.<\/p>\n

Usman, the \u201cThe Nigerian Nightmare,\u201d scoffed at the champion lightweight \u2019s challenge, taking to Twitter to post \u201cYou guys want a murder scene in the octagon?\u201d and \u201cHe said he\u2019s gonna\u2019 do what????\u201d with images of him laughing. Usman has defended his welterweight title five times and is expected to defend it a sixth time against Leon Edwards. Announcements on that match are expected to be coming soon. <\/p>\n

McGregor said he hopes his story and journey will be something to motivate those who have struggled the last few years.<\/p>\n

A different side of McGregor <\/h2>\n

The interview gives a rare look into the entrepreneurial mind of McGregor and offers a perspective glance into how the champion handles business in-and-out of the octagon. <\/p>\n

McGregor bought the Crumlin, Dublin pub in 2019 and interviewed just ahead of St. Patrick\u2019s Day, where his customers were set to celebrate for the first time since the purchase of the establishment for \u00a32million. Pandemic restrictions have prohibited large gatherings up until this point. <\/p>\n

The small pub is perhaps a paradoxical ambition for McGregor, who is notoriously going after the bigger fish in MMA. But his passion for the space is leading to success and breading profits. McGregor said the pub is dear to his heart. And though he\u2019d be content with owning it at a loss, he said the pub has been a \u201chuge\u201d success. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can feel safe coming into it and knew I was going to bring it up to the spec of a premise that I wanted,\u201d McGregor said. \u201cWe have a phenomenal chef, a phenomenal menu. An incredible team. It\u2019s unreal. Everything is Irish produce.\u201d <\/p>\n

Proud of his culture and with years’ worth of world traveling, McGregor said Irish cuisine is \u201cextremely underrated.\u201d He believes the pub is his contribution to celebrating the Irish tradition and gathering the \u201cbest of the best\u201d in one building as a testament to his nation\u2019s greatness. <\/p>\n

McGregor said Crumlin locals were mad when he bought the pub as they expected everything to become more expensive. He said he was aware of the sentiment and it has become an important aspect of his operation to keep things affordable and competitive with his local patrons. <\/p>\n

His pub is aiming at launching its signature \u201cForged Stout\u201d in kegs and cans beginning this fall, in time for stout season. He said his team is aiming at a September rollout. He notes stout is a $11 billion industry and has three major brewers making up the majority of the market. He believes his brand could potentially break into the scene and become a force to be reckoned with. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually been great to be involved in all of this buzz,\u201d McGregor said. \u201cI really enjoy it.\u201d <\/p>\n

McGregor described the stout as light, smooth ,and creamy, something someone could take multiple pours of without noticing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never want to put my name to something that\u2019s not high-quality and I wouldn\u2019t have myself,\u201d McGregor said. <\/p>\n

While the pandemic and injury has apparently allowed McGregor to flex his business and muscle, it has also been a chance to hit training furiously. The Irishman has always picked fights with the best, and he wants his comeback fight<\/a> to be no different. I\u2019m sure he believes only a great takedown against Usman will be able to silent critics and disrespect that has been hurled his way since his injury loss. The fight would also be another great McGregor-led boon to the UFC<\/a>. Let\u2019s all hope that he can make it happen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A year without Conor McGregor seems to have left a void of drama-filled smack talk in the MMA world. But McGregor is making sure it quickly fills back in again […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Will Kamaru Usman and Conor Mcgregor ever fight? This is a look at a potential matchup between the two UFC former champions, including all the talks and preparations ","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions\/134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.notorious247.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}