Coming Soon! The McGregornator vs The Conor Killer
One of the aspects of the UFC I love so much is their subtlety. As UFC fans we know that Joseph Duffy was the last man to beat Conor McGregor and that McGregor has talked about moving up to lightweight in the future. It does not take the ability to read minds to see that the UFC wants Duffy and McGregor to meet in the octagon.
The UFC’s desires about Conor are as easy to read as a drunk man’s at a strip club. Those all too easy to read desires from Dana White and the UFC have turned many of the fans off of McGregor. Leading to some pretty ridiculous tampering claims by some of the crazier of those fans.
There are many who still believe that Duffy’s next opponent, Dustin Poirier, took a dive against McGregor in their fight.
The UFC did not help this by essentially protecting McGregor’s run to the title. It took some creative matchmaking to avoid any wrestlers in a division with a top ten stacked with them but they did it.
Even after defeating Chad Mendes to win the, “really important and not made up at all”, interim belt the McGregor haters chirped loudly about the UFC protecting McGregor once again. For the McGregor haters it should have been the “always ready” Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and not the slightly out-of-shape Mendes.
At this point with McGregor it does not matter what he or the UFC does because people are going to react. His fans are going to love it and the haters are going to hate. That is what the UFC and McGregor wants even the hate, because as long as they care enough to hate they will tune in, if only to see someone kick his ass.
For many that someone is Duffy. To the McGregor haters Duffy is their hero, not only for being the last man to defeat McGregor, but also for being the opposite of him in public.
We do not really know McGregor, only the elements he shares with us. Most of his public moments seem to have a further purpose, usually to promote or get a future fight. It is clear that McGregor understands the need to do the promotional side of the business and he is very good at it. He just has that something that draws people’s attention.
Joseph Duffy vs Conor McGregor
While Duffy is much quieter. He rarely says anything and usually just enough to answer and nothing more. If he understands the need for promotion he appears to have little to no interest in it.
McGregor is loud, bold and brash when he speaks. Duffy is quiet, humble but still confident when he talks.
They both are highly skilled and finish their fights. Between them they combine for a 32-3 record and in those 32 wins, 30 of them have been finishes with 20 via TKO/KO and another 10 by submission. What is most impressive is how they have continued to finish fighters in the UFC.
All too often we see hyped prospects enter the UFC with pretty records and finishing rates only to see them struggle against the better competition. Neither McGregor nor Duffy had that problem as they both started off with two-straight first round finishes.
The only non-finish between them in the UFC is McGregor’s decision win over top contender Max Holloway. During that fight McGregor suffered a knee injury that required surgery but still got the win.
Coming This Fall!
Next we get McGregor on our TV’s each week for TUF 22 and Duffy will take on Poirier in the main event of the upcoming UFC Dublin.
Again, it is not an accident that Duffy is taking on a former opponent of McGregor’s. We will be reminded many times that night that Duffy is the last man to defeat McGregor.
I have to wonder if the UFC made this a Fight Pass card just so Mike Goldberg’s head would not explode over his excitement to deliver that fact to us over and over. In fact there is a good chance he would morph into Max Headroom if he were calling that fight.
Late in 2016 look for McGregor to either make the move to lightweight or at least announce that he is moving up. When he does do not be surprised if his first or second fight in that division is against Duffy, in Ireland and at a soccer stadium.
The beauty of this fight for them is that even if they both lose a fight between McGregor and Duffy would still be huge in their home country. But, if they both stay undefeated then it could become a huge fight worldwide.
