Needless to say, the old Conor McGregor is back.
While McGregor might have played a little more calm and cool ahead of his rematch with Nate Diaz – outside of the bottle-throwing incident, of course – “Mystic Mac” returned during a conference call with reporters on Thursday.
McGregor takes on Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205 next Saturday from Madison Square Garden.
“I see them break, bit by bit. And then we’re in the Octagon and I break them myself. So that’s it,” McGregor said (thanks to MMAFighting for transcribing). “I’m looking forward to going in. He’s claiming it’s an easier contest. I look forward to seeing the eyes, when the eyes roll, and the electric shock darts through his whole body and goes to his knees. And then he comes up in survival mode, and that panic sets through his whole body, his whole face. That’s something I’m looking forward to, and I will go out there and I will punish him for that, for those words that he’s saying. I’m going to retire him on this night.”
McGregor, the current UFC featherweight champion, didn’t stop there. He vowed to leave Alvarez unrecognizable to his family after November 12.
“I’m going to hurt you badly. I’m going to rip you up badly, I swear to God. Trust me, you’re going regret that,” McGregor said. “I feel (people are) going to see something they haven’t seen before. I’m going to toy with this man. I’m going to really, truly rearrange his facial structure. His wife and kids will never recognize him again. His friends and the people that he knows will know that he’s not the same man after this contest. So he’s going to be in a shock when he sees that. That’s it.”