Fighters Only

Issue 112

March 2014

We’re all human. We all have the same feelings and the same emotions. So of course, there are nerves before every fight, no matter whether it’s in the UFC Octagon or at some small-hall show someplace. Red-hot UFC featherweight contender Conor McGregor opens up on what it takes to reach the top.

"I think of it like this: you and your opponent are in different dressing rooms going through the exact same thing. That uncertainty, the nervousness, that fear of losing, that tiredness and that energy dump you get, everyone goes through it. Everyone is experiencing the same thing.

"So if I am going through it and I know that he is going through it, am I going to let some guy who is going through the same thing get the better of me? We all go through it. It’s just about recognizing it.

"We all have the same emotions, we all have the same fears and s**t. At the end of the day, there are two scared motherf**kers in each dressing room – it’s just a case of who is going to let that emotion take control of them more. That’s what I mean.

"Backstage, I am just staying calm, recognizing the emotions I’ve experienced many times. It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting in the UFC or some s**t show in front of 10 people, the emotions are exactly the same.

"And I don’t care if it’s MMA or jiu-jitsu, the emotions are the same. It’s just all about accepting that this is what occurs. I feel the emotions throughout camp. Those emotions you feel when your hands are being wrapped, when Burt Watson is calling your name. ‘We rollin’!’ I re-live those emotions every day during camp, consistently.

"So when the day finally comes it’s just one more day of feeling these emotions I’ve been feeling every day. That’s why I am so calm in there. I don’t overthrow shots. I don’t force anything. It’s worked well so far and I am going to keep getting better at it until I am unstoppable. I already feel unstoppable.

"And whatever way you feel, that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t feel negative emotions. I feel calm, composed; ready. And as it goes on I get better at it. By the time the fight is on, I don’t feel any emotions at all. Nothing. Honestly it feels easy to me now. It is easy!

"Listen to the way Max Holloway was talking in the pre-fight; he wanted to be at home with his family. I don’t want to be anywhere else but here. I look around and I’m trying to be humble and respectful, but I see a lot of easy fights. I see a lot of easy money.

"Doubt is only removed by action. If you’re not working then that’s where the doubt comes in. Mental strength is produced by action so if you’re sitting doing nothing, that’s when doubt creeps in. So I work hard.

"No one puts more rounds in than me – believe me. No one spars harder than me, we go hard, we go at it. I put in more rounds than anyone and I don’t get tired ever. That’s where my confidence comes from.

"After my last loss (Cage Warriors 39, November 2010) I went on a study of the mind. And now I feel untouchable. I have really proved to myself what a strong mind can do. It can do anything.

"I respect everyone chasing a dream, everyone working hard. Everyone who has a belief in themselves and what they can do. I respect that, regardless of what it is they do. Martial artists, same thing. Anyone who defies odds and believes in their ability."