Conor McGregor vows to defeat Dennis Siver in ‘under two minutes’

Conor McGregor has made a habit out of making wild predictions throughout his brief UFC tenure, and so far, nearly all of them have come true.

The Irish featherweight contender successfully called first-round finishes over his past two opponents, Dustin Poirier and Diego Brandao, and also appears to have been right on the money regarding his vision of fighting for a UFC title inside a soccer stadium in his native Ireland, although there’s much left to be finalized on that front.

Of course, all of McGregor’s grand plans first hinge on him getting past Dennis Siver on Jan. 18 at the main event of UFC Fight Night 59, but McGregor has a prediction for that fight as well.

“It’s exactly as I said it was going to be,” McGregor said on Saturday’s UFC 182 pay-per-view. “I said football stadiums. I said world titles. This is what I said and this is what is happening. It’s a beautiful thing when you have the ability to predict the future, and that is what I feel I have.

“So January 18th, I feel I will stop Dennis Siver inside two minutes. I’ve ran through some scenarios, I cannot see him escaping the first two minutes. He is a seasoned veteran, he is a kickboxing expert, a taekwondo expert, he is my most experienced competitor that I will ever have faced. But I feel that under two minutes it will take me to dispatch him, and again it will make way for the football stadium in Ireland.”

With featherweight contenders Cub Swanson and Dennis Bermudez suffering recent streak-ending losses, McGregor, 26, was promised the next title shot at champion Jose Aldo by UFC President Dana White this past Thursday, but only if he first defeats Siver, who’s currently ranked No. 9 in the UFC’s media-generated rankings.

A win would push McGregor’s UFC record to 5-0, but unlike his division-mates, he isn’t worried about getting too far ahead of himself and overlooking Siver in his pursuit of the gold.

“I’m not looking past him, I’m looking through him,” McGregor said. “This has been my approach the whole time. I say what I’m going to do to my opponent and map out what is next. This is no different. I’ve been doing this since I stepped foot inside the Octagon. The only difference now is, my previously opponents were supposed to beat me. Dustin (Poirier) was supposed to beat me. (Diego) Brandao was supposed to beat me. (Max) Holloway was supposed to beat me. (Marcus) Brimage was my first UFC caliber opponent, and I came through. The only difference here is that now everybody expects me to win. So I am grateful that the fans see what I see now. They are seeing the clearer picture, that there is nobody that can stand in my way.

“It will be the same outcome when myself and Jose face off. He will not stand a chance, and the fans will see that as well. I believe I will be the betting favorite on all of these future contests. I certainly feel that way.”

Conor McGregor has made a habit out of making wild predictions throughout his brief UFC tenure, and so far, nearly all of them have come true.

The Irish featherweight contender successfully called first-round finishes over his past two opponents, Dustin Poirier and Diego Brandao, and also appears to have been right on the money regarding his vision of fighting for a UFC title inside a soccer stadium in his native Ireland, although there’s much left to be finalized on that front.

Of course, all of McGregor’s grand plans first hinge on him getting past Dennis Siver on Jan. 18 at the main event of UFC Fight Night 59, but McGregor has a prediction for that fight as well.

“It’s exactly as I said it was going to be,” McGregor said on Saturday’s UFC 182 pay-per-view. “I said football stadiums. I said world titles. This is what I said and this is what is happening. It’s a beautiful thing when you have the ability to predict the future, and that is what I feel I have.

“So January 18th, I feel I will stop Dennis Siver inside two minutes. I’ve ran through some scenarios, I cannot see him escaping the first two minutes. He is a seasoned veteran, he is a kickboxing expert, a taekwondo expert, he is my most experienced competitor that I will ever have faced. But I feel that under two minutes it will take me to dispatch him, and again it will make way for the football stadium in Ireland.”

With featherweight contenders Cub Swanson and Dennis Bermudez suffering recent streak-ending losses, McGregor, 26, was promised the next title shot at champion Jose Aldo by UFC President Dana White this past Thursday, but only if he first defeats Siver, who’s currently ranked No. 9 in the UFC’s media-generated rankings.

A win would push McGregor’s UFC record to 5-0, but unlike his division-mates, he isn’t worried about getting too far ahead of himself and overlooking Siver in his pursuit of the gold.

“I’m not looking past him, I’m looking through him,” McGregor said. “This has been my approach the whole time. I say what I’m going to do to my opponent and map out what is next. This is no different. I’ve been doing this since I stepped foot inside the Octagon. The only difference now is, my previously opponents were supposed to beat me. Dustin (Poirier) was supposed to beat me. (Diego) Brandao was supposed to beat me. (Max) Holloway was supposed to beat me. (Marcus) Brimage was my first UFC caliber opponent, and I came through. The only difference here is that now everybody expects me to win. So I am grateful that the fans see what I see now. They are seeing the clearer picture, that there is nobody that can stand in my way.

“It will be the same outcome when myself and Jose face off. He will not stand a chance, and the fans will see that as well. I believe I will be the betting favorite on all of these future contests. I certainly feel that way.”