Mcgregor doesnt epitomise the real fighting irish tradition

The way it is....Anthony Moyles

 

William Shakespeare once said: “The empty vessel makes the loudest sound,” and in relation to one of Ireland’s newest sport stars, I absolutely concur.
Conor McGregor or “the Notorious” as he is fondly known is undoubtedly one of the loudest voices around. He is also one of the most high profile Irish athletes of his generation.
It was two years ago this month that he made his UFC debut and introduced himself to the world of combat sport, but also to the general public at large. If you did not see the fight or even hear about it there is no doubt that in the intervening two years you most certainly will have heard about “the Notorious”, unless you are living under a rock. He is literally everywhere!
These last few weeks saw the UFC World Featherweight contender embark on a 10-country promotional tour for his upcoming Las Vegas fight with the existing champion Jose Aldo.
Aldo is a tough Brazilian who has over 25 wins in the UFC. He is a very experienced fighter who has defended his title seven times. That’s some record in a sport where there are so many new entrants and title challengers. A record that you would think deserves respect?
Now before I go on, I will admit that I am no expert when it comes to UFC or indeed martial arts, but I would feel that I do know about playing sport at the top level and therefore what is required.
There is no denying McGregor’s athleticism and ability and I also would never question the fact that he has worked savagely hard to be the fighter he is. However, it is not McGregor’s fighting skills or strength, power and speed that I question here, but everything else about him.
His attitude and blatant disrespect for other fighters has polarised the sport. People seem to either love him or loathe him. Irish people who have come out in their droves to support him are probably only equalled by many who would like to see him beaten. Is this an anti-Irish thing?
Are these people shunning their patriotic duty to support everything that is Irish? Are they just jealous? All of these questions have been pointed at these anti-Notorious people and maybe there is truth in some of it. But for me, it is not anything about the country he is from, it is the way he is portraying himself and consequently then, Ireland.
This week another fighter in a different combat code is defending his World title in Brooklyn, New York.
Andy Lee, the current WBO Middleweight boxing champion, fights Peter Quillin in what proposes to be an intriguing battle. Lee is fighting in his 37th professional bout in a career that has suffered many disappointments before finally landing the belt he so coveted last December.
Many people might not realise this fight is taking place this week as the coverage has been so lacking. RTE have decided not to show the fight with the bout being shown to US audiences only.
The promotion of the fight has been practically non-existent. Maybe this is due to the fact that Andy’s camp prefer a low key build up, but the lack of media coverage from certain areas is a massive show of disrespect to not only a great Irish boxer, but also a great role model.
Lee is the polar opposite to McGregor. He is what we as a nation should be portrayed as. Hs is the epitome of respect. He talks about his opponents without any element of “trash talk”. In a recent interview he said of the Quillin fight that “there’s no ill-feeling. There’s nothing personal between us. After the fight we’ll shake hands, but when the bell rings we’ll be trying to take each other’s head off.” This is exactly how it should be.
During my career I never had any ill-feelings towards any other opponents regardless of the jersey color. I simply saw them as a person who was trying their best to stop me from being my best.
This meant that I had to do whatever it took to make sure they did not do that and that I would come out on top. Now this did not always happen and on those occasions you had to respect the fact that you were beaten, but I always respected the man unless he disrespected me.
I never gave an opponent a dirty stroke unless he crossed the line first and then, as they say, it was “fair game”. I have made some great friends through my sport and not just within Meath.I love the fact that I can meet lads from different parts of the country who I played against and that there is no bad blood (well at least I think that anyway).
For me this is what sport is about. It is about preparing as well as you can for battle and realizing that when you cross the white line, or walk through the ropes your opponent is there to stop you from achieving what you want and this cannot happen.
It is not about abusing them and everything related to them before, during or after the fight. My Father used to say to me that if a man started to talk or say what he was going to do to me during a game then he was already beaten.
I always found this to be true. The quiet opponents were always the most dangerous. 'Gooch’ Cooper for example is as quiet as a church mouse.
Lee is the type of sports person who should be lauded. He is the guy whom kids should be pointed towards and told, “this is how you act”. This is how you show people who you are, where you are from and what you represent.
Conor McGregor in the most recent UFC Embedded Series said that Jose Aldo should be careful being on his patch (in Ireland). That it was dangerous for him.
The insinuation was that Aldo himself could be in danger from us “CRAZY IRISH”. I would say Aldo was in more danger of hurting his liver from socializing than from physical assaults. This rhetoric from the Notorious only helped to fuel the horde of McGregor fans in the Convention Centre last week who booed and abused Aldo from every corner.
Now this may well be all pageantry by both camps to boost the ratings of the fight and indeed the purses, but it still shows Ireland in poor light. This is not who we are. This is not the way we act.
Italia ’90, USA ’94 even Poland and Ukraine in 2012 (where we scored one goal) - who were the best supporters?
Who enjoyed themselves and gave others the most enjoyment?
Who showed respect to all and sundry? Yes us, the Irish.
As a matter of fact probably many of the same McGregor fans were on those trips or at least their Fathers were. So why the change?
I hope it is all just hype. I hope it is just a UFC ploy by Dana White to enhance the earnings of both men and that underneath it all THERE IS massive respect being shown by McGregor.
If this is what is occurring then great and best of luck to him. McGregor seems hell bent on the money-making capabilities of the UFC.
He unashamedly tell us that it is all about the “bucks”. If that is his modus operandi well then brilliant and I hope he makes millions from it. When all is said and done what will he have achieved. What will be his legacy? What will he have stood up for? Whom will he have inspired?
And of those that he has, will they just all be about the dollar too?
In the same “Embedded” show Aldo spoke of the fact that he will not always be champion. That someday it will end. When questioned about what he most appreciates from his UFC journey, he said the greatest thing he has received are friendships. Meeting people and both giving and receiving respect.
I truly hope that McGregor realises the same before it’s too late because no amount of Dollars can buy you that.