There is no MMA fighter right now that is more charismatic than ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor. McGregor believes he is the best featherweight in the world and he makes sure to tell everyone this with every chance he gets. After calling out almost everyone in the featherweight division, the Irishman will finally get a top tier guy in Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014.
Whether he realizes it or not, McGregor is fighting for much more than himself at UFC 178. ‘The Notorious’ one has single-handedly brought Irish MMA to the forefront. An entire country is behind him like no one else in MMA right now or possibly ever before. McGregor has vowed to become the first ever Irish champion in the organizations history and all of Ireland is backing him in his journey to the top.
The UFC has also invested a lot in making McGregor their next big superstar. It is not often that a fight that is not in the main event or co-main event gets its own commercial, but this is the case for McGregor vs Poirier. As of right now, McGregor is the much more marketable fighter than Dustin Poirier, but if he wants to accomplish his goal of becoming champion, he must beat ‘The Diamond’ at UFC 178.
If Conor McGregor loses at UFC 178, the hype and support will not die, but it will certainly take a massive step back. A lot is riding on his fight against Poirier and the spotlight has never been bigger. McGregor is facing his toughest test of date by a large margin, but he still claims to “finish him in the first round.”
A loss at UFC 178 will devastate the entire country of Ireland. It will also temporarily set him back from accomplishing his goals as well as delaying the UFC from using him as a massive draw and pay-per-view headliner. One thing is certain, if McGregor does get past Poirier, he is a legitimate threat to the featherweight title because there are not many tougher fighters than American Top Team’s Dustin Poirier.
