Conor McGregor has been hungry to get back to fighting since long before his injured knee healed up and, now that he has been medically cleared, finally has someone to focus all his pent-up his fighting energy on.
“What knee? The knee is a distant memory,” stated the Irishman on UFC Tonight. “I’m done talking about it. I’ve got the all clear. Someone is going to pay. First in line is Cole Miller on July 19th in my hometown of Dublin.”
It was confirmed yesterday that McGregor and Miller will headline the UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event in Ireland in July. There has been some back-and-forth between the two featherweights in recent months and a fight between them has been speculated on for a while now.
Although he has spent the better part of 2014 thus far rehabing an injured knee, the outspoken Irish 145lb’er claims the injury has only made him more driven and dangerous.
“I stay ready. That man opened his mouth. He was under the influence of post-fight adrenaline and it has the same effect as alcohol. It makes you brave. But guess what happened? It wore off. Now he has to face the reality that he’s going to face me – me coming back from this injury is a man possessed. I’m going to go in there and break him in the very first exchange.”
Stylistically, Conor believes he has an advantage over his upcoming opponent in both the speed and psychological departments. Not only that, the former two-division Cage Warriors champ says he has what it takes to “smash” all the top guys in his division.
“He’s slow. He’s scared. I’m fast. I’m fearless,” claims the confident Dubliner. “There’s no contest. I see it in his voice, his body language. He’s petrified. I’m coming to get him. And not just him – forget him – I’ve listened to everyone calling me out. Now I’m back and I’m going to rip through them. I’ll smash Chad Mendes, I’ll annihilate Jose Aldo. I’m coming to take over the division. It’s my division.”
In preparation for his next bout, Conor revealed he will be journeying away from his base in Dublin, Ireland to train with his teammate, UFC welterweight Gunnar Nelson, in his native Iceland. According to McGregor, his notoriety in his home country has made it difficult to take care of business and a fight camp in a more peaceful setting will help him focus.
“I don’t feel any pressure whatsoever. A man who wears a suit like this doesn’t feel pressure. Moving around is difficult. In and out of the gym, I have to dodge panty hose, every time I enter and leave. So I’m moving to Iceland to prepare with my teammate who’s the co-main event. It’s a beautiful place, it’s peaceful and the people are nice. It’s isolated and we’ll focus on the contest. I’m coming back July 19 and I’m going to whip Cole Miller.”
McGregor is a man with no short supply of enemies in his division. Having called out just about every top guy at featherweight (along with one or two in the next division up), it was only a matter of time before he had a run-in with one of his fellow contenders.
“That is true. I didn’t ignore him. I didn’t see him,” Conor recalled of one occasion he encountered fellow featherweight Cub Swanson at a UFC event. “Then I said, ‘Ah, old man Swanson. I have no problem with you, but when the time comes I’m going to break you, old man.’ There was some back and forth. I said I’m just having fun, but keep the old timer away from me.”
McGregor vs Miller is set to take place at UFC Fight Night: Dublin on July 19th in Ireland.
