MICHAEL CONLAN ADMITS he was “pleasantly surprised” by Conor McGregor’s boxing skills when he observed the UFC featherweight champion during a sparring session in Dublin recently.
Conlan and McGregor met for the first time in June after the mixed martial arts star had made contact with the world amateur boxing champion via Twitter to enquire about potential sparring partners to mimic Nate Diaz.
Conlan recommended six-time All-Ireland champion Conor Wallace, who then travelled to Straight Blast Gym for a sparring session. It obviously went well, as Wallace is currently in Las Vegas helping McGregor to prepare for his attempt to avenge his defeat to Diaz a week from tomorrow at UFC 202.
“It was fantastic. It was great to finally meet Conor in person,” Conlan told Ryan Bailey of The42 in an interview before he departed for Rio de Janeiro, where he’ll begin his quest on Sunday to add another Olympic medal to the bronze he claimed in London in 2012.
“He [McGregor] is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s a really down-to-earth guy. I was actually kind of star-struck when I met him because he is such a big name in the sporting world. It blew me away how down-to-earth the guy is. I really, really respect him.”
Conlan was also impressed by McGregor’s boxing pedigree. The 28-year-old Dubliner moved to MMA in 2006 having trained at Crumlin Boxing Gym, and his ability with his hands has been the key ingredient in his success in the UFC.
“He has serious boxing skills,” Conlan insisted. “He sparred Conor Wallace, one of the top boys on our team, and I was very impressed by just how good his boxing skills are. I was pleasantly surprised. I knew he had good hands but he was even much better than I thought.”
Despite his admiration for McGregor, however, Conlan has no intention of swapping the ring for the cage when he returns from Rio.
“I was never really interested in MMA. I’ve watched bits here and there. The first fight I watched was UFC 98, Lyoto Machida fighting Rashad Evans, but I never really stuck to watching it regularly,” Conlan explained.
“But when Conor came on the scene he kind of attracted everybody to it, myself included. It’s not something I would do — I wouldn’t fancy getting kicked in the shins or anything! — but seeing what he’s been able to achieve has really gotten me more interested in it. I really respect him.”
Let me guess. Scotland are the dark horses for the championship.
Deja vue x 10 years.
@Stanley Marsh: they have the players to take it to the next step. Would love to see them competing for this year’s trophy by taking it up a notch, hopefully this 6 Nts is the most competitive tournament yet..
@Stuart: the game in Murrayfield will be a step up on the aviva game v England. Tuipulotu injury blunts them à but but still a very difficult fixture.
@Stuart: hopefully Italy beats them tomorrow !
If you say the same thing for 100 years eventually it might come true right? Finn Russell has one trophy to his name. The 2014-15 pro 14 title with Glasgow.
@Putland Road: or pro12 whatever it was called back then.
@Putland Road: That’s what we thought before 2009!
Be humble, they have a good side!
Lions 10. Followed by Smith and Prendergast.
King of the talkers. They’ll beat England and lose to Italy and Wales
Yeah yeah
Rugby’s Messi, if u believe Netflix, lol!