Conor McGregor and Stephen A. Smith engage in a jovial conversation ahead of UFC 264

Conor McGregor and Stephen A. Smith engaged in a jovial conversation ahead of UFC 264.

MMA megastar Conor McGregor, who has kept his media appearances and overall interactions with the combat sports world to a bare minimum ahead of UFC 264, arrived in style for an interview with Stephen A. Smith.

The reason behind Conor McGregor limiting his media appearances and other interactions in the buildup to UFC 264 is purportedly due to him wanting to zone out as many distractions as possible.

The UFC 264 event will be headlined by a high-stakes matchup between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. And it’s believed that McGregor has crafted his camp for this fight around being completely focused on his training rather than spending time on media obligations.

That said, as revealed by ESPN via its Twitter handle, Conor McGregor did partake in an interview with veteran ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. As we’d previously reported, Smith will be a part of the UFC 264 broadcast team as a desk analyst for the event.

“What’s up, Stephen A.?” Conor McGregor asked as he walked towards the interview props, donning an exquisite suit and wearing a smile on his face.

Stephen A. Smith greeted Conor McGregor with a smile whilst stating,

“See, here’s the problem. This is the first time I’m doing an interview with somebody and they’re dressed better than me. I didn’t know that, my brother. How you doin’, my man? How’s everything going, man? Pleasure to meet you, man. I’m just saying, you know, I pride myself in dressing pretty sharp.” (*Video courtesy: ESPN Twitter; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

“This is the first time I’m doing an interview with somebody, and they’re dressed better than me.”@stephenasmith has some competition for best dressed with @TheNotoriousMMA in town 👔 #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/3VsBBkW1cI

— ESPN (@espn) July 8, 2021

Furthermore, Stephen A. Smith suggested that he came to interview Conor McGregor after covering the NBA Finals and didn’t feel the need to change into something better than he’d worn. Smith admitted that he made a mistake by doing so and he perhaps should’ve changed into something even sharper before meeting McGregor for the interview.

Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier is being considered as a crossroads fight for ‘The Notorious’

Conor McGregor (left); Dustin Poirier (right)

The consensus in the MMA community is that the UFC 264 trilogy matchup between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is a crossroads fight for McGregor. A win at UFC 264 would help McGregor win his series of fights against Poirier by 2-1 and would truly be a feather in his cap.

However, a loss at UFC 264 would result in Conor McGregor losing the trilogy as well as a potential shot at the UFC lightweight title that’s currently held by Charles Oliveira. And experts believe that Conor McGregor’s global brand value is also likely to be adversely affected if he were to lose to Poirier at UFC 264.