Conor McGregor Admits he "Got Lost" During Rise and is Still Fighting Old Version of Himself
Conor McGregor admitted in a sit down interview with Paramount that he "got lost" during his rise to stardom and is still battling old versions of himself ahead of his UFC 329 return against Max Holloway.
Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) said something this week that most people never expected to hear from him. He admitted he got lost in fame.
In a sitdown interview with Nate Burleson on Paramount ahead of his UFC 329 return against Max Holloway on July 11, McGregor opened up about what fame actually did to him over the last decade and what it did to him as a person.
"Fame has its pitfalls," Conor McGregor said. "You better move carefully in this world, for sure, probably even more so now. I've taken a lot of lessons in my life, and it's just about self discovery. Studying yourself, learning yourself, learning triggers. I find myself even now still in a fight with an old version of me or old ways that don't serve me."
The Mayweather Fight Changed Everything for Conor McGregor
After the Mayweather fight happened Conor McGregor reportedly made over $100 million in one night. After that, everything started slipping. He went 1-3 in the Octagon.
His prefight comments got uglier, going after opponents' religion and families. Headlines stopped being about Conor McGregor's fighting and started being about everything else from legal issues, controversies, to missed comebacks. The man who changed MMA was becoming someone the sport didn't fully recognize anymore.
In January, he explained that he didn't focus on boxing training the way he should have. He never fully appreciated, especially with what came after, the opportunity he was giving himself: The potential on the other side of a boxing ring where the best boxer ever was waiting, challenging him.
"I got lost," McGregor said.
Conor McGregor Went Through Treatment
Conor McGregor also revealed he did "self reflective work" on himself outside of the fight game, went through treatment, did internal work away from the cameras and the spotlight. When Conor McGregor came back to start preparing for Holloway, he noticed something.
"On my immediate return to this game and the cameras, I found myself reverting to an old version of me," McGregor said. "I had to kind of remind myself, hold on. I'm different now. I'm a different person."
Conor McGregor made his career off confidence and trash talk. Now, he's telling the world he had to catch himself from falling back into old patterns.
Conor McGregor: Five Years Away From the Cage
Conor McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. At five years, this is the longest absence of his career by far. During that time, he's been through injuries, personal issues, and enough public scrutiny to break most people.
Now he's 11 days out from fighting Holloway at welterweight, a weight class he's never competed in before. Holloway has been training with former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena specifically to prepare for this fight. McGregor is the power puncher who's been on the couch for half a decade, and everything about this fight is uncertain.
Nevertheless, the Conor McGregor set to enter UFC 329 appears to be a changed individual from the one at UFC 264. If that will be reflected in his performance is something only time will tell, but he has been honest about his challenges and what he has done to reinvent himself and it appears to be authentic.
"I'm different now," McGregor said. "I'm a different person."
