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Conor McGregor continues to promote himself as the greatest fighter of all time, an act that's getting a little thin with sports fans on social media given his record over the past five years.
In a new back-and-forth between McGregor and fellow former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo, 'The Notorious' ended an argument on training methods by declaring:
"I’m the f***in goat an ya know it"
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That led to quite the debate in the replies section of the tweet. One fan stated:
"You aren’t even in the top 100 of the GOAT discussion. Any champ that has ever defended their belt is automatically a greater fighter than you, factually speaking."
Conor McGregor ruled the octagon from 2013 to 2016, winning the featherweight title and then moving up in weight to take the lightweight title as well, becoming the first simultaneous UFC double champion. During this period he went 9-1 with his sole loss coming to Nate Diaz.
Rather than defend his belts, though, he took a break from MMA to box Floyd Mayweather in 2017, losing via TKO. Since returning to the UFC in 2018 he's gone 1-3, and while his accomplishments cannot be denied, it's hard for him to compete for GOAT status above longtime champions like Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Jon Jones.
Conor McGregor's manager promises "the greatest comeback in sports history"
Conor McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg badly in a July 2021 bout against Dustin Poirier. While 'The Notorious' initially suggested he may return by the end of 2022, it's clear now that he won't fight again until sometime in 2023.
McGregor's decision to co-star in a Hollywood remake of Road House alongside Jake Gyllenhaal had some questioning his commitment to the sport. However, according to his manager Audie Attar, McGregor is still focused on coming back and making history. Attar told MMA Junkie:
“First and foremost, he loves this sport. I think that’s the one thing that’s very special about him. It’s why it’s allowed him to reach a level of success that most fighters aspire to achieve. He loves it. The second part is he’s a competitor."
“Does he have more ambitions and goals that he wants to achieve? Absolutely. I think that’s what makes it so special and so intriguing and it’s going to be an interesting story, and I do believe it’s going to be the greatest comeback in sports history.”
Watch Audie Attar discuss Conor McGregor's comeback below:
It's still uncertain when Conor McGregor will make his UFC return, or even which weight class he will fight in when he does. McGregor has been looking bigger than ever in photos posted to Instagram, yet the former champ-champ did his best work at 145 pounds.
After struggling to recreate that success at lightweight, 'The Notorious' has teased a move to welterweight. If he did manage to win the 170-pound title, it would certainly put him in the running for greatest comeback in sports history.
Do check out the video below on UFC fighter pay:
