Conor McGregor's opponents were already losing the mental battle, and at time "s****ing their pants" when they would fight in his early UFC days.
That's according to legendary former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. The Brit was ranking the five most fearsome fighters in UFC history, placing McGregor at No.5 in a list that also featured Shane Carwin, Ronda Rousey, Anthony Johnson and MIrko Cro Cop, when he noted that the Irishman had a particular brand of mental warfare.
McGregor ran through the competition on his road to UFC gold, dethroning featherweight legend Jose Aldo within just seven fights in the promotion. And even after losing to Nate Diaz and winning a tight decision in their rematch the same year, he maintained his aura of invincibility for his lightweight title win against Eddie Alvarez a year later.
READ MORE: Irish MMA star Ian Garry 'can't wait' to share UFC card with Conor McGregor
Bisping, who was on his own path to gold at the time in the middleweight division, believes that McGregor's ability to make his opponents fear him was as big a part in his success as his impressive skills themselves.
"Whether they like to believe it or not," Bisping said in his YouTube video. "A lot of the opponents that stepped into an octagon with Conor McGregor, they were already s****ing their pants."
He also explained the art of McGregor's talk, adding: "When you combine all that talk, that swagger, that bravado, that aggression, and then you look at the tape, you see him knocking people out. You see him picking the round, you see him even picking the minute and the method that he's going to do it in - that gets into opponents' heads!"
However, a string of injuries, outside of the cage controversies and coronavirus restrictions have cost McGregor some of his prime years. He moved into boxing after becoming two-weight champion, taking Floyd Mayweather ten rounds in his professional debut before succumbing to his pressure.
But it was over a year before he was back in the octagon, losing by submission to the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. Then injuries cost him a further year-and-a-half before he stopped Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone in January 2020.
Despite demanding a quick turnaround, the UFC couldn't get McGregor another fight before the March shutdowns due to coronavirus, and he was once again out for a year waiting to face Dustin Poirier.
He fought Poirier twice in 2021, losing their first rematch by knockout in the second round at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi at UFC 257. Six months later, he broke his leg during the first round of their trilogy bout, and has been out ever since.
He recently returned to SBG Ireland's Dublin HQ, and is hoping to be back in action early next year, when he will fight at welterweight. McGregor is pursuing an unprecedented third UFC title.
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