LAS VEGAS -- Given how Conor McGregor typically approached his fight week press duties throughout his career, ****** ody would have blamed you if you expected a little bit more fireworks out of his appearance at UFC 329 media day on Wednesday.
However, as McGregor prepares to enter the Octagon for the first time in five years to face Max Holloway on Saturday, there's a noticeable difference in his demeanor. He's clearly been humbled by the trials and setbacks he's faced in recent years, however many of them have been self-inflicted, and at the very least is more appreciative than he has been in the past about the opportunity to fight in the UFC. At the same time, he still does possess the bravado that made him such a global superstar to begin with.
While there wasn't the typical drama of a McGregor press conference in terms of trash-talking his opponent or the rest of the sport in general, there were several eye-opening moments where McGregor delved into the personal and professional descent that has darkened his reputation throughout the last decade. One of those moments occurred when McGregor's highly-publicized ****** ual ****** ault case was brought up, to which the fighter offered an impassioned plea of innocence.
"I'm an innocent man, and I'll stand for my innocence until the day I go out," McGregor said. "That is still a situation where I fight. There's a reason it didn't go where it went and it went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight. I know the truth, and I know that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. I know that anything done in darkness will soon come to light, and I trust in God that it's coming, you best believe it's coming, and I look very very forward to the day."
McGregor also admitted that he fell into the cycle of fame, money and partying that so many athletes and specifically fighters have been affected by. He explained how the establishment of his Irish whiskey brand, Proper Twelve, coincided with his freefall.
However, as McGregor prepares to enter the Octagon for the first time in five years to face Max Holloway on Saturday, there's a noticeable difference in his demeanor. He's clearly been humbled by the trials and setbacks he's faced in recent years, however many of them have been self-inflicted, and at the very least is more appreciative than he has been in the past about the opportunity to fight in the UFC. At the same time, he still does possess the bravado that made him such a global superstar to begin with.
While there wasn't the typical drama of a McGregor press conference in terms of trash-talking his opponent or the rest of the sport in general, there were several eye-opening moments where McGregor delved into the personal and professional descent that has darkened his reputation throughout the last decade. One of those moments occurred when McGregor's highly-publicized ****** ual ****** ault case was brought up, to which the fighter offered an impassioned plea of innocence.
"I'm an innocent man, and I'll stand for my innocence until the day I go out," McGregor said. "That is still a situation where I fight. There's a reason it didn't go where it went and it went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight. I know the truth, and I know that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. I know that anything done in darkness will soon come to light, and I trust in God that it's coming, you best believe it's coming, and I look very very forward to the day."
McGregor also admitted that he fell into the cycle of fame, money and partying that so many athletes and specifically fighters have been affected by. He explained how the establishment of his Irish whiskey brand, Proper Twelve, coincided with his freefall.
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