EDITORIAL: NOTORIOUS AND VICTORIOUS

Ian Shank, Staff Writer

Conor “The Notorious” McGregor just recently won a fight by knockout last weekend at UFC 205 in New York. He made history by being the first fighter in the UFC to ever hold the title simultaneously in two different weight divisions: lightweight and featherweight. This has revived my belief that he is the best person fighting in the UFC. For starters, he is a born showman. He knows how to entertain and gain hype for any of his fights. At the press conference for UFC 205, he arrived late and walked to his seat while skipping and pretending to throw money in the air. He would then go on to attempt to throw a chair at his opponent, Eddie Alvarez, and continue to throw punches only to be dragged off stage by security; yet the audience was going wild the whole time. After his victory, he pleased the audience by throwing a profanity-laced temper tantrum because his crew forgot to get his other belt he had previously won. He then ended the octagon interview with “I’d like to take a chance to apologize to… absolutely nobody!” Those watching, myself included, went berzerk after that final statement. I loved it; I thought it showed the true spirit of McGregor: an egotistical maniac that knows how to keep a crowd happy and hyped.

He is also a phenomenal fighter. He has the fastest knockout time in the UFC: thirteen seconds. Impressed? I thought so; I know I was when I saw Jose Aldo hit the floor like a domino that was knocked out. During his fight against Eddie Alvarez, McGregor successfully knocked him down three times during the first round using only his left fist. He is also very loose during his fights which lets him last longer in the fights and makes him have more fluid combinations when fighting. I think at times he can be a little too cocky, though. When going up against Alvarez, McGregor actually put his hands behind his back and leaned closer to Alvarez. My trainer would probably kill me if I even thought of that, let alone actually doing it. The man is too cocky, and I feel he needs to stop being the way he is or it could lead to his downfall.  What one cannot deny is his excellent, but sometimes eccentric, fashion choices. He always looks nice. The man constantly wears suits and turtle necks. He even pulled off a white fur coat with a red turtleneck underneath and pants that had a floral pattern. I can’t think of any other person that would even dare to wear that. What some may not know is that he actually has a great sense of humor. While on “Conan,” he threw several jokes that made even Conan O’Brien come close to giving a full-blown belly laugh, not a chuckle or anything of that caliber but a genuine laugh. I also love his tattoos. He has several but my favorite one is the one he has on his chest. It’s a gorilla wearing a crown while eating a heart. Its morbidity and randomness make it awesome. Some may say that he is too cocky, arrogant, or kind of a jerk, but no matter what they say, I still think Conor “The Notorious” McGregor is the face of the fighting game.