McGregor On Sexual Assault Allegations, Love Child, Drinking And Boxing

Conor McGregor returns to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 246, where he will meet ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in the main event. Having made so many headlines for all the wrong reasons since he last fought fifteen months ago, the 31 year old is surrounded by questions about his professional and personal life, going into UFC 246.

Ahead of the UFC’s first event of the new decade, McGregor sat down with ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani to answer these questions. Below, we’ve shared some of the highlights from the 47 minute long interview.

McGregor on his sexual assault accusations:

“Look, just no, I can’t say anything about this. It just has to take place, right?

“Would it bother you [to be accused]? There you go.

“Time, time, time Ariel. Patience. Patience is a skill we must master. Patience is one of the most valuable skills a human being must master. And I’m working hard to master it. And I feel I’m getting there. So, time, time, time will show all them. That’s it. Right now, I’m focused on the belt, focused on positivity and good thoughts. And I will say a prayer for those who try to curse me and bring harm to me with these type of things. That’s it.”

McGregor on accusations that he fathered a love child:

“Two and a half years that situation was going on for, so that one was a tough one for a while. It is what it is, there you go, it’s not mine.”

McGregor on whether he denies all allegations made against him:

”Yes, of course. Yes, f***ing hell. Come on. Seriously. Time, time, please. Time will reveal all. Time will tell all, and that’s it.”

McGregor on whether he had trouble entering the US after his run ins with the law and the recent allegations:

”People that know me know my character,” he said. “The people that helped me in the background understand that. They helped me, and I’m very thankful for that. There was no problem. Everything went smooth.”

McGregor on how long it has been since he last had an alcoholic drink:

“Good couple of months ago [since I last drank]. Three, four months ago maybe.”

McGregor on drinking throughout his training camp, ahead of his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229:

“I was drinking all the way through fight week last time. I had people holed up in a hotel from that part of the world (Russia). And I would ring and arrange a fight and I would ring them and they would come down to the gym and have a full-blown fight, no head guard, gloves that were small. A fight. I’d win, I’d have a war, and I’d win and I’d knock the guy out then I’d go off and celebrate. Then I’d come back in three days.

“Not doing what I should’ve been doing, not living the life I should’ve been. I’m not going back there. I’m in a better place. I’ve made mistakes and you know, I’ve been man enough to admit them and correct it, and that’s what I’ve done. I might not be perfect, but with a good sleep and a full belly, I’m damn close.”

McGregor on how much he’ll be paid for UFC 246:

“We’ve got a good deal. Very happy. Very excited to see how it unfolds, right? Like I said, this is a new setup with it. I’m confident it’s going to be a god, nice pay cheque. Probably [the most I’ve made] in my mixed martial arts career. Yeah. I’d say about, it could be, I’m estimating a good $80 million. Like I said, we got Australia, Canada, and England and Ireland. It should be a good one.

“They think I’m toast, Ariel, but I’m still the bread.”

McGregor on fighting Floyd Mayweather again:

“I’d like to rematch Floyd. I think we should rematch Floyd. He’s flirting with it and doing all this and he can pick someone else but it’s not going to be the same. I done phenomenal in that bout. The only reason I lost that bout was because I prepared for a back footed philly shelled style of opponent and when the fight was like that, I was picking him apart. Then he came forward and started pressing and I wasn’t syncing into my shots like I am now with my boxing coaches under my belt, that are drilling specific boxing things into me again. I know I’d beat Floyd if we rematched. When we rematch.

“He’s not going to do a mixed martial arts bouts, like we said. It was supposed to be boxing and then we were going to do a mixed martial arts bout. That what was said. That came out of his mouth as well. Not written but it was a verbal agreement. Obviously it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to push him on that either. I would like to box him. That would be a good rematch.

“It will happen again. It’s happening again.”

McGregor on fighting Manny Pacquiao and Paulie Malignaggi:

“There’s been talk about the Manny fight. There was an offer made on that. …Just not yet. Very much (it’s possible).

“Then the Paulie fight. I’d like to box Pauli as well. Why not? That’s a bit of a buzz, Paulie. A boxing bout.”

McGregor on boxing:

“I want to box again. I will box again. I will get a boxing world title. I love boxing, I truly love boxing.”

You can watch the full interview with Conor McGregor here:

UFC 246 goes down this Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Do you think Conor McGregor will get the win against ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 246?


See also:


Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Leave comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.