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Conor McGregor has now seemingly hinted that his trash-talking persona will return.
MMA legend and UFC icon Conor McGregor took to his official Instagram account and suggested that he isn’t going to be ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ anymore. Fans can check out McGregor’s social media post below:
"No more mr nice guy"
This caption is believed to be a reference to his approach in his last couple of fights – against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Dustin Poirier – in which McGregor was uncharacteristically respectful towards his opponents before and after the battles.
The last fight in which Conor McGregor’s trash-talking avatar was on full display was his UFC 229 grudge match against archrival Khabib Nurmagomedov that transpired in October 2018. McGregor and Nurmagomedov took their rivalry to an intensely personal level, with both fighters taking shots at each other’s family, religion, nation, and much more.
The buildup to Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was packed with spine-chilling animosity and McGregor’s relentless trash talk. That said, the fight’s result didn’t go McGregor’s way. The Irish superstar ended up suffering a fourth-round submission loss at the hands of Nurmagomedov in their UFC lightweight title fight at UFC 229.
Following this, Conor McGregor faced Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout at UFC 246 in January 2020. The buildup to this fight saw McGregor display a completely different side of his personality. Gone was the trash-talking persona, and in place of it was a genuinely respectful version of McGregor. Come fight night, McGregor ended up defeating Cerrone via first-round TKO.
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier – Mental warfare
The first fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier was contested at featherweight and transpired at UFC 178 in September 2014. McGregor’s trash-talking persona was turned all the way up in the buildup to this fight, and he won via first-round TKO. Poirier later admitted that McGregor’s trash talk did get to him and adversely affected his performance.
Their rematch was contested at lightweight and transpired at UFC 257 in January 2021. McGregor adopted a respectful approach towards this fight, akin to the Cerrone fight, and didn’t attack Poirier with his notorious trash talk ahead of UFC 257. McGregor lost this fight via second-round TKO.
On that note, certain sections of MMA fans and experts, including MMA legends like Daniel Cormier, believe that Conor McGregor refraining from attacking Poirier with his world-renowned mental warfare is what caused him to lose at UFC 257.
Furthermore, a potential Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy bout is likely to take place later this year (2021). And McGregor’s trash-talking avatar might be making a comeback, as he attempts to gain an advantage in the mental warfare realm.
