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”I do [believe he’ll be champion again]. I’ve seen a level of fire that’s been reignited within him.”
It’s been a rough couple of years for Conor McGregor, but the Irishman’s longtime manager, Audie Attar, promises we’ll ‘The Notorious’ return to top form when he takes on Donald Cerrone in the UFC 246 main event next month in Las Vegas.
McGregor hasn’t fought since his submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, and many fans were quick to point out how much slower and flat-footed the former champ looked compared to previous fights. Couple that with the fact McGregor hasn’t actually won a fight in over three years, and it’s not difficult to see why the MMA community has lost faith in the former featherweight and lightweight champion.
But, speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Attar said McGregor has reignited a level of fire in himself that the Paradigm Sports Management CEO hasn’t seen since the Dubliner beat Eddie Alvarez to become the UFC’s first ever simultaneous two-division champion in 2016.
”I do [believe he’ll be champion again],” Attar said. “I’ve seen a level of fire that’s been reignited within him.”
”We’ve done things that nobody ever thought we could do, from the Floyd Mayweather fight to the type of contracts that he’s been able to earn,” Attar continued. “We’re very proud of that. Those don’t come easy. But those come with a lot of, I think, distractions and things that allow you to lose sight of what was really important to you. And the one thing that’s exciting for me is to see he’s refocused, and we all need that in life.”
“Life is not linear, it’s not black or white, and we’re all gonna at times need to refocus and keep track of what’s important to us – what’s our purpose professionally, what’s our purpose personally. And I think when you keep those two things aligned and moving in the right direction together, I think you’re gonna have harmony in your life, you’re going to have happiness in your life. And that’s where he is right now. He understands who he is. He understands what his purpose is professionally. He understands what his purpose is personally. And he’s focused on achieving that.”
“That’s why we’ve talked about this year being a season, not just one fight. Not just going in, one after another after another. It’s really focusing on what’s important to him, and that’s key. And I’m just so excited because I haven’t seen this in a couple of years and I’m telling people just sit back and you’ll see a performance of an old Conor, and I really believe that, because the work’s being put in there, and you can’t fake that.”
McGregor also recently posted a topless photo on Instagram, and it’s clear the 31-year-old has gained a considerable amount of weight in preparation for his welterweight bout with ‘Cowboy’ at UFC 246.
“Who the fook is that guy,” McGregor posted on Sunday.
UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cerrone takes place next month, Jan. 18 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.