Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) top dog Lorenzo Fertitta recently told the mixed martial arts (MMA) media that reigning featherweight champion Conor McGregor moved the needle, though I reckon this isn’t the kind of needle he was talking about.
Coach Richard Perez, on the other hand, has his own theory.
The longtime boxing trainer for top lightweight sensation Nate Diaz has been keeping his eye on “Notorious” ever since the UFC 196 main event switcheroo, and now speculates as to why McGregor requested his short-notice headliner — originally set for 155 pounds — be contested at welterweight.
From Submission Radio:
“I mean, I’m not around him… I’m not the one that really knows, but just by watching a guy to come up from 145 to 170, you’re gonna have some fat on you. Believe me, you’re going to have to have some fat somewhere. Around your waist, somewhere. He didn’t have any fat at all. He was solid muscle. So how are you going to build that much in two weeks and be solid muscle? You know what I’m saying? Because he was supposed to fight at 155, but he was already overweight. I know he was. Like I said, I’m not the one who really knows about him, but to me, I feel like he’s gotta be on some kind of substance, you know, to get built up. Cause he’s a little guy, and a little guy can’t get real bulky that quick.”
See McGregor’s before (145) and after (170) pics here.
Following his submission loss earlier this month, McGregor admitted to being “inefficient” with his energy, which is why he dominated round one but got tooled in the second stanza. He’ll have a chance to prove it when they run it back at UFC 200 in July (more on that do-over here).
As for the mysterious “substance” at play … it should be noted that “Mystic Mac” has yet to flunk a drug test.
Case closed?