Conor McGregor Meets Milquetoast Press In Las Vegas: Softballs and Malarkey

Recently Conor McGregor talked with the press about his upcoming fight with UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Here’s the video link from MMA Junkie. The entire MMA Junkie article by John Morgan is here.

While rising UFC star Conor McGregor is often straightforward and entertaining in interviews, as a MMA blogger it’s frustrating to watch a docile and often obsequious press toss softball questions while never challenging the malarkey McGregor spews.

I’ve documented why Dana White and the UFC have a long ugly history of bullying and suppressing real journalists who ask tough, relevant questions. It’s a fact that much of the MMA press core are afraid to behave like real journalists when covering the UFC.

McGregor often repeats that he’s not playing a game but of course with interviews like this it is all a game and Conor is one of the best players. He not only comments about opponents’ perceived weaknesses or problems, he gets in their heads by brilliantly manufacturing issues out of thin air. In the video he did this with his comments about Aldo’s trainer retiring (actually offered him a job), absurd observations about Jose’s body wearing down and other digs.

These tactics worked with some opponents. They won’t work against Aldo.

With this docile and often obsequious MMA press Conor is like that guy at a carnival who sells a kitchen gadget no one needs but many end up buying because the salesman spins so much bullshit the customer believes he must have it.

In the above video link it’s clear the reporters asked one nauseating deferential question after another. One scribe actually asked, “Conor what makes you special?”. None of them challenged McGregor’s weak reply about the UFC/Reebok relationship and there wasn’t one peep after Conor made the preposterous claim that Jose Aldo’s body was breaking down after taking too much punishment.

Of course history shows the opposite is true. Other than a sore shoulder and neck years ago rarely has Jose Aldo suffered real damage against any opponent in the last nine years. Chad Mendes landed some good punches and cut Aldo in their second fight but he only managed to win one round. Frankie Edgar fought tough against Jose but he never hurt Aldo while taking a great deal of punishment in a loss.

When McGregor claimed Aldo’s body was breaking down I was shocked not one reporter disputed this with the facts about Jose’s record and then a follow up question I would have asked.

“Conor, the facts don’t support your contention that Aldo’s body is breaking down but isn’t it true your body has broken down so severely that you required two major surgeries in an attempt to repair it?”

That’s the question a real journalist would ask. However we get softballs and beach balls because the reporters in that UFC presser have no balls.

McGregor is only 26 but compared to Jose Aldo it is Conor who suffers from a serious body breakdown. Conor has a grave handicap with his surgically repaired left knee. He had two operations to repair his torn ACL. Many mistakenly believe he had a minor knee injury but that is the worst ligament in the knee to destroy because it is the most essential ligament for stability and the most difficult to repair. The knee can never be as it was originally. The surgery requires transplanting ligaments from another part of Conor’s body or ligaments from a cadaver. The damaged knee sidelined McGregor for about one year.