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Conor McGregor never sells himself short.He said he would knock out the greatest sub-170 fighter of all time in the first round, and that’s what he did. He said he was going to carry the UFC’s pay-per-view machine in 2015, and he accomplished just that (along with Ronda Rousey).
And if you happen to be listening to his recent pre-fight chatter ahead of the dos Anjos fight, McGregor, the UFC’s featherweight champion, will also be the first reigning two-division champ in company history, no problem.
But he isn't content stopping there, apparently.
“Look at everyone down there – 180-200, easy – everybody, everyone I’m sparring is well over welterweight,” McGregor said, motioning to fighters inside his Dublin gym in an interview with SevereMMA.com. “I got middleweights coming in fresh trying to wear me down. So, why not go up? They get slower and they get less free. They get stiffer. Even more stuck than the lightweight division. So, I’ll keep going, keep eating, keep training, and keep going until all the [expletive] belts are wrapped up.”
That’s right, folks – all the belts.
As recently as last week, rumors circulated about a possible third weight division for McGregor when his coach, John Kavanaugh, mentioned they’d spoken about the possibility. Kavanaugh said he wouldn’t be surprised at all if McGregor attempted to fight welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in his next fight after dos Anjos.
McGregor says he’s “living the whatever-the-[expletive]-I-want life” and apparently the LTWTFIWL makes you want to fight Robbie Lawler. Or Luke Rockhold. Or Jon Jones.
According to McGregor there are no more real martial artists – at least as far as he can tell. At 27, his only concern is with challenging himself each and every fight. And when the challenges cease to exist – however soon that might be – he’s gone.
“How many times have you seen a champion instantly go up” he asked. “How many years have you heard about superfights, and then nothing?
“There’s [expletives] everywhere in this game and that’s it. I’m here to fight. I’m here to win every belt and then I’m gone. And then I’ll see the game later. I’ll set it ablaze and walk away!”
Before he does leave the sport, though, McGregor has some large goals set for himself – yes, even bigger than becoming the first UFC all-weight champion (OK, maybe not).
Last month rumors swirled that McGregor was potentially planning to break off from the UFC and start his own company. He filed a trademark for “McGregor Promotions” and the move ignited a firestorm of debate.
But McGregor maintains he is a true company man. He is loyal, and he owes much of his career to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and the UFC.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m climbing that corporate ladder every damn day," McGregor said. "And we will be neck and neck. Maybe somewhere along the way I will take that lion’s share. But we will always be together."
He continued, “I’m not trying to break out, I’m just trying to grow, be eye to eye, and get my share of the [expletive] pie. And they know that. I said that straight off the bat. But I will always be in association with ZUFFA. It’s an honor to grow with this company.”
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!