Having achieved his goal of being the number one fighter in multiple divisions, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has already made history on many levels yet has never actually defended any of the titles he’s won.
Following his professional boxing debut this past August, mixed martial arts fans have been speculating as to what’s next for McGregor. With enough money to last him the rest of his life, most fans believe he’s only going to take fights that can pay him the most. However, his friend and training partner, UFC featherweight Artem Lobov, says that’s not the case at all. (Transcribed by MMAimports.com)
“He’s never taken a money fight.” Artem Lobov told the media when asked about McGregor choosing his fights. “Every single fight he’s taken made sense. He destroyed the featherweight division and there was nothing else for him to do there. So he moved up to go take on a bigger challenge, you know, fight for that lightweight belt. And now things worked out the way they did, and there was a pull out. And Nate stepped in, and we know how that played out. Obviously Conor had to get that rematch, he had to get that one back. How is he, as a man that’s competitive, as competitive as he is, was just going to just let that one go? Never, ever was he gonna let that go, so he had to get that back. Once he did get that back, he went back on track to his original plan of moving up to 155 (pounds) and taking on that next challenge, which is done.
Of course Conor’s next challenge ended up being one of the biggest events in combat sports history as he stepped into the boxing ring for the first time against Floyd Mayweather.
“And after that an even bigger challenge presented itself in (Floyd) Mayweather.” Lobov continued. “Something that 49 men had attempted before and it hasn’t been achieved. For an MMA fighter to go into a completely different sport and take on the best guy ever, this is a huge challenge. And that’s what motivated Conor. None of this f*cking money fight bollocks. I mean of course he gets paid and gets rewarded for his work that he does, but it’s not about that. But now, once that is out of the way, he’s ready to defend that belt. That belt was his dream for as long as I can remember. Trust me, you will never take that belt off him.”
Check out what Lobov and other fighter’s had to say about Conor McGregor in the video below.
