Not only is Conor McGregor raising the bar for fighter pay, causing wives to break out the red panties and smashing pay-per-view (PPV) records, but the fiery Irishman is also opening doors for fighters to compete inside the Octagon who otherwise may have not gotten the chance.
That’s according to Cris Cyborg, who recently told FOX Sports that had it not been for Conor’s request to fight at different weight classes whenever he sees fit, she probably would’ve never had the chance to compete at a catchweight of 140 pounds against Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016 in Curitiba, Brazil.
She explains:
“I think [Conor] McGregor opened the door for this. He’s fighting at different weights. I think he opened the door to make this fight happen. There you go. I’m really happy for the opportunity and I’ll do my best in Curitiba and of course I’ll try for the KO and I’ll do my best. I think when you clean your division and you don’t have any more opponents or you want challenges, it’s okay to go up or you can try to go down. All the fighters go up, but now I have to go down. If you can go up or go down to make a big challenge for the fans, it’s good for everyone. I think McGregor opened the door for this fight. He [sold] a lot of pay-per-views and it opened the opportunity. I think the UFC sees the great opportunity and it’s a great time.”
McGregor — the current featherweight champion of the world — recently lost to Nate Diaz in a welterweight fight at UFC 196 (see it again here). A fight that came to be after lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was forced out of his 155-pound title fight against “Notorious.”
McGregor received the fight against “RDA” by request, shortly after taking out Jose Aldo to gain the undisputed 145-pound title.
And if you’re one of those who thinks Conor’s head is already too big for his shoulders, wait until he gets a hold of Cyborg’s latest praise.