ROYCE GRACIE HAS LOST HIS RESPECT FOR CONOR MCGREGOR
FIGHTLAND BLOG
By Fightland Staff
The thunderous arrival of Notorious Conor McGregor has touched thousands of fans of mixed martial arts. Some love him while others adore and worship him. In Ireland, he’s a god. To the average fan, he’s a powerful athlete with a fantastic skill-set that puts asses on seats and keeps them entertained for the duration of his performance.
Challenger to José Aldo’s featherweight title, Conor McGregor has without a doubt rattled the Brazilian psyche. When in Brazil, he ups his shit-talking game to the point that the audience is no longer just saying funny, kind of awful things to him—when Conor opens his mouth down there, the people start making death threats.
Anyway, McGregor’s a divisive character. Everyone knows that. He's a fantastic fighter. He's also a loudmouth. Everyone’s got an opinion and rarely are those opinions very interesting. Either they dig him or they think he’s a dickhead. But every now and then an interesting character comes out of the woodwork and gives his two cents. This time around, it’s none other than the legend Royce Gracie.
One of the most important names in the history of the sport, this 48-year-old hall of famer and winner of three of the original UFC tournaments thinks Conor McGregor is a dickhead. In fact, he thinks that José Aldo should’ve fucked McGregor up when he snatched the belt from the table.
In an interview with Combate.com, the Gracie icon said that he sees everyone saying that “he’s the most talented, the best, the guy right now, but the way he’s talking now he’s fallen in my eyes. I don’t like it. I lost my respect for him.”
As far as he compatriot’s behavior goes, Gracie commended him, saying that he isn’t against talking trash. He said that McGregor isn’t aware of all the pressure he’s putting on himself by talking all that smack. He said that Aldo is “playing the right game, staying quiet. McGregor is taking Muhammad Ali’s model. He can say whatever he wants but he’s got to prove it. If he doesn’t prove it, his career is going to be short. He’s good, but he didn’t really need to talk all that. Aldo is playing the right game and he’ll prove it in the ring. McGregor is just disrespecting. Guys forget sometimes and lose respect—there’s no need for that. It’s like celebrating. You’re going to celebrate a victory? You’re getting paid for what? To lose? You’re getting paid to win. It’s like a soccer player who celebrates a goal he made and thanks God. You’re celebrating what? They’re paying you to make a goal. You’re doing nothing more than keeping your end of the deal.”
When asked as to who he thought would win the fight, he said “McGregor is good, I like the guy, but he’s fallen a lot in my eyes after the media tour. The other guy is an animal, he’s tough, he’s been champion for years, he doesn’t lose because of this, he knows what he’s doing. Conor is new.”
FIGHTLAND BLOG
By Fightland Staff
The thunderous arrival of Notorious Conor McGregor has touched thousands of fans of mixed martial arts. Some love him while others adore and worship him. In Ireland, he’s a god. To the average fan, he’s a powerful athlete with a fantastic skill-set that puts asses on seats and keeps them entertained for the duration of his performance.
Challenger to José Aldo’s featherweight title, Conor McGregor has without a doubt rattled the Brazilian psyche. When in Brazil, he ups his shit-talking game to the point that the audience is no longer just saying funny, kind of awful things to him—when Conor opens his mouth down there, the people start making death threats.
Anyway, McGregor’s a divisive character. Everyone knows that. He's a fantastic fighter. He's also a loudmouth. Everyone’s got an opinion and rarely are those opinions very interesting. Either they dig him or they think he’s a dickhead. But every now and then an interesting character comes out of the woodwork and gives his two cents. This time around, it’s none other than the legend Royce Gracie.
One of the most important names in the history of the sport, this 48-year-old hall of famer and winner of three of the original UFC tournaments thinks Conor McGregor is a dickhead. In fact, he thinks that José Aldo should’ve fucked McGregor up when he snatched the belt from the table.
In an interview with Combate.com, the Gracie icon said that he sees everyone saying that “he’s the most talented, the best, the guy right now, but the way he’s talking now he’s fallen in my eyes. I don’t like it. I lost my respect for him.”
As far as he compatriot’s behavior goes, Gracie commended him, saying that he isn’t against talking trash. He said that McGregor isn’t aware of all the pressure he’s putting on himself by talking all that smack. He said that Aldo is “playing the right game, staying quiet. McGregor is taking Muhammad Ali’s model. He can say whatever he wants but he’s got to prove it. If he doesn’t prove it, his career is going to be short. He’s good, but he didn’t really need to talk all that. Aldo is playing the right game and he’ll prove it in the ring. McGregor is just disrespecting. Guys forget sometimes and lose respect—there’s no need for that. It’s like celebrating. You’re going to celebrate a victory? You’re getting paid for what? To lose? You’re getting paid to win. It’s like a soccer player who celebrates a goal he made and thanks God. You’re celebrating what? They’re paying you to make a goal. You’re doing nothing more than keeping your end of the deal.”
When asked as to who he thought would win the fight, he said “McGregor is good, I like the guy, but he’s fallen a lot in my eyes after the media tour. The other guy is an animal, he’s tough, he’s been champion for years, he doesn’t lose because of this, he knows what he’s doing. Conor is new.”