McGregor embraces UFC stardom and everything that comes with it
While everyone else is panicking around him, Conor McGregor takes a moment to soak in his surroundings.
It’s hard to blame him.
The 26-year-old Dublin native has come a long way in the past two years since he picked up his final public assistance check in Ireland just days before a spectacular Ultimate Fighting Championship debut catapulted him to stardom in the octagon.
Now he’s a regular at Red Rock Resort, where he stays in a lavish suite each time he visits, complete with a personal butler.
McGregor was in Las Vegas because the UFC wanted to get one of its most marketable stars before the national media that was here for the May 2 megafight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden.
It was the day before the fight, weigh-in day for boxing’s two biggest stars. McGregor was scheduled to go live on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” set at the MGM pool in a matter of minutes, but he was basking in the Las Vegas sun as his chauffeured SUV was leaving the Red Rock.
“I love Vegas. It just smells of success,” McGregor said as he took a whiff of the desert sun. “You can feel the money here. It’s my kind of town.”
As public relations people in the car and contacts on scene scrambled to make sure the live spot with McGregor and UFC president Dana White went off as planned, the fighter’s only concern seemed to be getting a perfect photo of his custom-made suit to post on social media.
It’s not that McGregor has become a diva or doesn’t care about the schedules or stress levels of those around him. He just genuinely seems to believe he can beat any opponent, which at the moment even includes time.
That attitude is part of what makes McGregor so dangerous inside the cage and so marketable outside it.
He has the unique ability to work a crowd and opponent into a lather while remaining oblivious to his surroundings and solitarily focused on the task at hand.
A live appearance on perhaps the most important sports show in America alongside the boss could represent a daunting task under ideal circumstances, much less with the minutes ticking dangerously close to the cameras going live.
Not for McGregor.
He scrolls through his Twitter mentions as he’s transported to the MGM, only briefly looking up to ask his fellow passengers what subjects they think might be touched upon during the interview.
It’s his only preparation for what is sure to be one of his biggest media appearances in advance of a title fight against featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 189 on July 11 at the MGM Grand Garden.
While some of the other larger-than-life personalities of the past that have risen to prominence in the organization have been accused of playing a character or even employing writers, it’s abundantly clear McGregor’s shtick is no act.
Earlier this year, White tried to sum up what has made fans so passionately attracted to the flashy kickboxing specialist.
“There are many fascinating things about Conor McGregor,” White said. “No. 1, the way that he speaks, it’s not trash-talking. He 100 percent believes in himself and that he’ll be the world champion. If you sit in a room with him for 15 minutes, he’ll make you (expletive) believe it, too.”
Of course, once McGregor makes it to the set of “SportsCenter,” the interview goes off without a hitch. Perhaps the only place he excels more than in the cage is behind a microphone.
He stops to chat with White for a few minutes off set, telling his boss and one of his most ardent supporters about the final details of his move to a seven-bedroom mansion in Las Vegas to commence his training camp in a few days.
Then it’s almost immediately back to the phone.
Jenna Jameson was apparently watching. The former porn star, who was once married to former UFC champion Tito Ortiz, tweeted about McGregor’s spot on ESPN.
“Crushing on (Conor McGregor),” McGregor read aloud from Jameson’s post with delight. She followed up the comment with several hashtags. “#justsayin #whatamouthpiece #dangerous #irish #welldressed.”
He seemed to take particular delight in the last one. But McGregor’s focus on social media is about more than feeding his ego.
It’s all part of the job. He is almost in disbelief of his fellow fighters who look at media appearances and fan interactions — in person and online — as an unwelcome part of the profession.
“If you hate the game you’re in, what are you doing here? It’s the age we live in. It matters,” he said. “I (expletive) love the game. I love everything about it. I love this life. What else can I say?”
McGregor’s flight back to Los Angeles for the final three days of his vacation before he meets his fight team back in Las Vegas for training camp is about 90 minutes away.
He’s adamant that leaves plenty of time for a return to the Red Rock 18 miles away for a bite to eat and a few minutes of relaxation before heading to the airport. McGregor is eventually convinced that race against the clock is one even he won’t be able to win.
Instead, he settles for an omelet at a local breakfast spot near the airport before he’s dropped off about 35 minutes before his flight.
Plenty of time for one last selfie and a casual stroll to the gate.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
