Conor McGregor may keep his legacy, but inactivity may always have us asking, “What if?”
Conor McGregor is the most enigmatic fighter the UFC’s ever seen. He was the most exciting. He was the most popular. He made the most money. But after winning his second title against Eddie Alvarez and taking on Floyd Mayweather, inactivity has really had most die hards asking “What if Conor McGregor was more active?”
Since winning his title, McGregor has taken off years at a time, robbing him of his prime, and really handing him losses as a result. Let’s look at the time between his fights since Alvarez:
- Alvarez to Mayweather: 9 months
- Mayweather to Nurmagomedov: 14 months
- Nurmagomedove to Cerrone: 15 months
- Cerrone to Poirier 2: 12 months
- Poirier 2 to Poirier 3: 6 months
- Poirier 3 to the time of this writing: 21 months
Now I am willing to give McGregor a pass after that third fight with Dustin Poirier. He snapped his leg for cryin’ out loud. But since Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor has beat one washed up Cowboy Cerrone and those five fights since then has taken 6 years and 9 months of McGregor’s time. That is the difference from being 28 years old and 34 years old. Conor McGregor is past his prime.
Conor McGregor: Primes Win Fights
Not everyone is George Foreman and can come back after 10 years and win a World Championship. In a sport like MMA where it’s evolving so quickly, McGregor can be passed up very quickly.
That time off not only has robbed McGregor of his prime, but being out of competition has hurt his performances too. Rounds fought are important for a fighter. McGregor has compromised himself by not fighting many rounds in nearly 7 years. He was finished early in both Poirier fights and won the Cerrone fight in one. This has kept McGregor from dusting off the ring rust and becoming a better fighter.
Compound this with McGregor aging before our eyes, and it doesn’t look good for MMA’s most exciting man. If you look at how McGregor is living, full of drinking, not in USADA, and taking time to do movies, it’s not clear he’s completely dedicated to fighting.
As in the words of the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler: “It’s tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5am when you’re sleeping in silk pajamas.“
