UFC hall of famer Forrest Griffin is one of the brand ambassadors in town this week for the keenly anticipated UFC Dublin event on Saturday night in The O2 in Dublin and, as you might expect, the main topic of conversation is one Conor McGregor.
McGregor faces the highest profile bout of his career on Saturday night when he squares off against Brazilian slugger Diego Brandao in Saturday night's main event in front of 10,000 screaming compatriots but Griffin is concerned about what would happen if the Dubliner doesn't live up to the quite significant hype he has generated in himself.
"If he does lose, what’s going to happen? It’s going to shatter his ego. I’m a little worried – and I’m serious – about his future as a fighter when he does lose", Griffin told entertainment.ie this morning.
"He going to lose, sooner or later because [Featherweight] has gotten to become a very competitive division. There’s a about six guys in that division that aren’t to be messed with."
"Diego’s got power and explosiveness; he’s got that one punch threat. I’ve seen about three of Conor’s fights and I’ve never seen him take a shot on the chin. When he does take that first [big] shot on the chin from a little glove – and maybe he already has in Cage Warriors – but I’m always interested to see the first time that somebody gets clipped", Griffin continued.
That isn't to say that Griffin sees something special in McGregor. Obviously impressed, Griffin compared meeting him to the first time he met the 205lbs kingpin Jon Jones before he won the title.
"Not to draw too many comparisons, but I remember meeting Jon Jones before he was a big deal. I remember thinking that Muhammad Ali quote, “I believed I was the best in the world before I ever was.” That was what I thought when I met Jon. Obviously Conor has a lot more bravado but this guy believes in himself and that’s great. I’ve never been that confident in anything, ever."
McGregor and opponent Diego Brandao
At the time of writing, McGregor is currently shedding the last few pounds needed to make the 145lb weight limit for the featherweight division and Griffin - now retired - doesn't miss the weight cutting process in the slightest.
"For me, it was always really tough. Your attitude changes, you’re a little hyper aggressive. You’re irritated, you’re agitated. You’ve been taken out of your surroundings – it’s weird", Griffin explained.
"The fight game is very stupid in a sense because you control everything that you can, your weight and diet, training and routine. You keep a very monastic lifestyle but then in the last week you just shake it up. People tell you that you have to do this PR, otherwise you’re just going to have to fight for free if no one shows up. It’s better now though, no weight cut, no stress, no one’s going to try and beat me up in front of my mom on Saturday…"
