Conor McGregor's Personality - Which Will We Get at UFC 329?

Conor McGregor returns to action for the first time in five years at UFC 329 to face former foe Max Holloway in a fight that is 13 years in the making. When the two first met, Conor McGregor's personality was far different to that of the personality of 'The Notorious' that we have become accustomed to. 

In recent years, however, we've seen two different sides to McGregor and if recent interviews are to believed, we may see another shift in the demenour of the UFC's first double champion. We take a look at Conor McGregor's personality and predict which one we might see this weekend at UFC 329 when he stands across from Max Holloway.

Conor McGregor's Personality

The Humble, Friendly McGregor

When Conor McGregor and Max Holloway first met in the octagon back in 2013, there was nothing but respect between the two men. Yes, he was confident, but he wasn't trash talking Holloway like he did Dustin Poirier a few fights later. 

It was clear that there was a mutual respect between the two men, albeit in a highly competative manner. Yes, they got nose to nose and butted heads at the weigh ins, but also shared a glove touch at the beginning of the fight.

McGregor's clash with Donald Cerrone seven years later continued that theme of respect, where, in many people's eyes, trash talk wasn't needed. McGregor was levels about Cerrone and it showed on the night. He wasn't one to punch down on this occassion, simply coming into the bout with supreme confidence and rightfully so. Cerrone was a shell of himself on the night and it appeared that the occassion had gotten to him. He froze and was finished in just 40 seconds. The return of the Mac...

The next time we saw a truly humble McGregor was when he took on Dustin Poirier for the second time and McGregor was, uncharacteristically friendly. Complementing Poirier, having a photo with his arm around him at the weigh ins, exchanging gifts and having an intense, but respectful face off, without the need for Dana White to step in and calm things down.

Even after the fight, despite suffering the first knockout loss of his career, McGregor was respectful to Poirier, despite understandably being devestated with the loss.

It's a side to Conor McGregor's personality that fans aren't used to seeing. The Irishman made a name for himself being a brash, trash-talking, 'anything goes' type of fighter, which is arguably what made him into the megastar that he is today. 

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, McGregor emphasised how important his faith is to him in recent times, how he's no longer motivated by money and it was a side to McGregor that fans aren't used to.

The Not so Humble McGregor...

Conor McGregor's personality that fans are far more accustomed to is his brash, trash-talking and confident persona which sometimes goes too far. We saw in his UFC debut that he showed Marcus Brimage no respect, went in there and blasted him away in a little over a minute.

Against Dustin Poirier in their first fight, we saw the best of McGregor's trash-talk. The famous 'chicken dance' and 'hill-billy' lines have gone down in history. His systematic breakdown of the legend Jose Aldo over many months, culminating in 'that' 14 second knockout highlight just how effective his brashness was.

Then came Nate Diaz in their first encounter. Trash-talk which somewhat went wrong. His lack of humility and belief in his power gave him a false sense of immortality and the gritty Diaz made him pay. The bitterness between the two men was obvious for all to see and, despite respect after their first fight, the rivalry was reignited for the rematch.

A line of security were deployed in between the two men inside the octagon before the intorductions, it was The Notorious B.I.G. vs Tupac for the walkout songs, it had everything and the fight delivered. Once again, after the war, respect was earned between both men.

The build-up to the Eddie Alvarez fight was different. McGregor referred to type, was ultra confident and the, although he trash-talked Alvarez, it was more about his own ability, rather than a direct attack on the American. What played out was arguably the best performance in UFC title fight history. A one sided beatdown and a history making night.

The Beginning of the Decline

Sprinkled inbetween UFC fights was a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, where again, the trash-talk was rife. He showed Mayweather little respect, constantly stated that he could beat him in a 'real fight' and berrated several parts of the American's persona. After the fight, however, there was a clear respect between the two men. That couldn't be said for McGregor's next outing.

Then came the ugly build-up to Khabib vs McGregor, where Conor McGregor's personality was arguably at it's most notorious. He was unhinged in the build-up, which began many years before with the infamous 'dolly incident' in New York. Then came the back and forth at the press conference with Ali Abdelaziz, followed by the aftermath of the fight itself, although that was more Khabib's issue than McGregor's.

Conor McGregor's personality was back to his old, trash-talking, aggressive self against Poirier in their third fight. Gone was any respect for Poirier, McGregor was ready for war. Poirier played his part, not stepping down from McGregor and giving as good as he got. Once McGregor's leg break happened, The Diamond got in his face and berated the Irishman. It would be Conor who took to the mic, shouting expletives about Poirier's wife, however.

What McGregor will we get at UFC 329?

It's hard to say which version of Conor McGregor's personality we will get at UFC 329. If the Helwani interview is to be believed, he'll likely be humble but confident. Focused but determined. 

With that being said, in the only exchanges we've seen between McGregor and his UFC 329 opponent, Max Holloway, it appears that he's coming in brash. 

On a brief call with Holloway, McGregor got extremely animated, hyped and was shouting over his future opponent on the call. In retaliation, Holloway also became fairly animated and attempted to out-shout McGregor.

Whatever version we see of McGregor, it's good to have him back and there's no fight week like a McGregor fight week.