Conor McGregor will be gunning for UFC history at UFC 197 in March, when he has a chance to defeat Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title, and simultaneously hold two belts. McGregor would be the first in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time, and just the fourth to become a champion in multiple divisions.
McGregor’s mouth is as big a part of his rise in the UFC as his ability, and there’s no doubting the UFC enjoys his brashness. But at their first press conference together, McGregor may have gone too far for even the UFC’s liking.
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What's @TheNotoriousMMA going to do on Mar. 5? #UFC197 https://t.co/46fmUDNQiD https://t.co/SYU0pQHdAU
— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2016
“I will behead Rafael dos Anjos. I will drag his head through the streets of Rio de Janeiro through a parade of people I’d imagine. It would become a national holiday, I’d also imagine. But it’s simply a sign of recognizing who’s true, and who is not,” McGregor said.
Yikes. There’s a way to talk smack without borrowing from an ISIS propaganda tape. The UFC struggles with perception in some circles, and they’re currently fighting to get legalized in New York City, where for years they’ve been derided as barbaric. Injuries like the one Matt Mitrione suffered to his eye on Monday don’t help.
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Neither does talk of “beheading.”
Dos Anjos didn’t just accept McGregor’s barbs, and he battled back with more appropriate comments.
“I want to finish him. I want to submit him, actually,” dos Anjos said. “Sometimes you knock someone out and the way they go down isn’t nice, but when you submit someone … I want to make him quit, I want him asking me to stop.”
McGregor did his job. People are once again hyped to see him fight, and he continues to be UFC’s main attraction. But don’t be surprised if he tones down the rhetoric just a little bit at future pressers.
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