What’s the story?
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is to have a one hour long sit down interview with reporter Ariel Helwani on January the 28th in Manchester, England.
McGregor (21-3) is the biggest personality in MMA at the moment, and since defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 for the lightweight belt, there has been talk of a super-fight with boxer Floyd Mayweather, as well as fights with rival Nate Diaz or top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, who fight at UFC 209.
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After winning the belt and announcing his partner was having a child, McGregor was quieter than his usual self, and this interview will be an opportunity to hear his thoughts on the developments between himself and Mayweather or about the lighweight division which he is champion of.
In case you didn’t know...
Conor McGregor, before becoming a mixed martial artist, was actually an amateur boxer and went as far as to win an All-Ireland boxing championship as a young teenager under the tutelage of two-time olympian Paul Sutcliffe. He is most notorious in MMA for having lethal striking abilities and these most likely come from his youth in boxing. From these small beginings he has become the largest pay-per-view draw in MMA and one of the world’s best known athletes
The heart of the matter
This interview is a great opportunity for McGregor to build some excitement about his return to fighting, whether it is in boxing with Mayweather, or in MMA with any of the high-level top contenders in the lightweight division. There has been much commotion in the division and we’ll find out if he believes the fight with Mayweather will materialise, or if he has a date set in mind for a return. No doubt the live audience will mean there will be an exciting atmosphere throughout the interview.
What’s next?
The most likely fight for McGregor to announce is the winner of Nurmagomedov v Ferguson at UFC 209, especially as Nurmagomedov has tweeted and private messaged McGregor, calling him a ‘coward’ and saying he has exuses not to fight him. Or perhaps it is Mayweather, with Dana White saying he has offered $25 million to Mayweather, so if he was to accept that amount, we would see McGregor fight the undefeated boxer. Either fight is going to be extremely exciting, as are all of McGregor’s
Sportskeeda’s take
McGregor is such an wild, unpredictable character that it is difficult to know what will happen at this interview, but without a doubt it will be entertaining and will reveal much of what is to come.
