ironworks
10-24-2014, 12:04 AM
Irishman Conor McGregor’s meteoric rise up the UFC ranks reflects that of the sport of mixed martial arts itself. Not long ago, the 26-year old was virtually unheard of, now he is about to become a household name across the wrestling world.
The flamboyant featherweight is not just a major draw in his native Dublin; his stunning one round defeat of Louisiana combatant Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas at the weekend has put him firmly on the global map and shown that he is the real deal. Now McGregor is threatening to bring his home town to a standstill and either challenging for or defending the UFC championship belt in front of a packed Aviva Stadium – home of the Irish national rugby and football teams.
After his comprehensive thrashing of Poirier, the vociferous Dubliner predictably threw down the gauntlet. The ginger grappler will head Octagon side in Brazil 25th October when Jose Aldo defends his crown against Chad Mendes. Pundits predict that the fighting Irishman will probably shoot ahead of the victor of November’s duel between Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson and take on either Mendes or Aldo for the world title.
McGregor’s arrival on the scene is bound to provide a welcome boost to pay-per-view channels and UFC aficionados. While the likes of Aldo and Mendes, Edgar and Swanson are great fighters and know how to get the fans on their feet, McGregor has ignited the featherweight division as well as the lower weight categories, like no other fighter in recent memory. His popularity was demonstrated by the army of travelling Irishmen whose colourful and boisterous support gave Las Vegas an unfamiliar green, white and gold hew and delighted the local bar owners as they raised glass after glass in honour of the new chieftain on the block.
With the passion of the Irish fans unleashed, UFC is set for greater popularity wherever the Irish congregate. With huge numbers of native Irish emigrating from the Emerald Isle over the last six or seven years, that means huge interest throughout Canada and the U.S., as well as the United Kingdom and Australia. There is bound to be a spinoff in other European countries too, particularly as Sweden’s Gunnar Nelson’s 4th October 5-round welterweight bout against American Rick Story in Stockholm has caught the Scandinavian imagination like nothing since Beowulf was in town. To get in to mixed martial arts and follow the McGregor marvel
The flamboyant featherweight is not just a major draw in his native Dublin; his stunning one round defeat of Louisiana combatant Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas at the weekend has put him firmly on the global map and shown that he is the real deal. Now McGregor is threatening to bring his home town to a standstill and either challenging for or defending the UFC championship belt in front of a packed Aviva Stadium – home of the Irish national rugby and football teams.
After his comprehensive thrashing of Poirier, the vociferous Dubliner predictably threw down the gauntlet. The ginger grappler will head Octagon side in Brazil 25th October when Jose Aldo defends his crown against Chad Mendes. Pundits predict that the fighting Irishman will probably shoot ahead of the victor of November’s duel between Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson and take on either Mendes or Aldo for the world title.
McGregor’s arrival on the scene is bound to provide a welcome boost to pay-per-view channels and UFC aficionados. While the likes of Aldo and Mendes, Edgar and Swanson are great fighters and know how to get the fans on their feet, McGregor has ignited the featherweight division as well as the lower weight categories, like no other fighter in recent memory. His popularity was demonstrated by the army of travelling Irishmen whose colourful and boisterous support gave Las Vegas an unfamiliar green, white and gold hew and delighted the local bar owners as they raised glass after glass in honour of the new chieftain on the block.
With the passion of the Irish fans unleashed, UFC is set for greater popularity wherever the Irish congregate. With huge numbers of native Irish emigrating from the Emerald Isle over the last six or seven years, that means huge interest throughout Canada and the U.S., as well as the United Kingdom and Australia. There is bound to be a spinoff in other European countries too, particularly as Sweden’s Gunnar Nelson’s 4th October 5-round welterweight bout against American Rick Story in Stockholm has caught the Scandinavian imagination like nothing since Beowulf was in town. To get in to mixed martial arts and follow the McGregor marvel