Conor McGregor brings a lot of skill when he fights in competitive mixed martial arts matches, but that's not all he brings to the octagon. His talent for trash-talk is not just an off-shoot of his unique personality, but an actual tool he apparently uses to throw opponents off.
In a conversation on Joe Rogan's podcast recently, McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, spoke about his client's approach to the game. As well as going into his perspective on the absolute chaos that ensued at UFC 229 earlier this month, Kavanagh spoke to the trash talk that sparked up Khabib Nurmagomedov's anger:
"Conor's a divider. Some people love it and some people hate it. I'm not really interested in people's opinions, I'm more interested in what is, and what is is that sells fights. There's a reason he's the highest paid guy. That's natural for him to do too, it's not an act. It's just part of the game for him, he enjoys it, it's a bit of fun."
McGregor definitely knows how to sell a fight, getting every UFC fan interested in whatever he's up to next - and he definitely has a talent for bouncing back after a defeat. Despite his loss to Floyd Mayweather in the ring last year and his fourth-round defeat at Khabib's hand, he's quick to jump into the spotlight, even looking for a rematch.
This week, the Irish fighter was in front of a huge crowd once again - this time in the states. He attended the Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday, as a special guest of the owner, Jerry Jones. There, he posed for photos and met members of the team - but the part the internet clung onto was the way he threw a football.
Many fans pointed out his terrible throwing form and mocked him for it relentlessly. "I think McGregor picked the right sport," one user wrote, while another added: "Conor McGregor has never thrown a football before".
McGregor responded to all these jokes on his own Instagram, sharing an image of the day, and calling those who were poking fun at him "f***ing ruthless". Apparently, his technique was off because he was wearing a jacket, and didn't want to rip it. He wrote:
"Hahaha yous’r f***ing ruthless on this side. I just didn’t want to rip my custom @augustmcgregor baby blue billionaire blazer.
That was all, y’all.
"Great job to the Cowboys today! It’s a Proper giddy up tonight in Dallas and I LOVE IT, see yous soon."
McGregor seems to be in high spirits given the fact that he (along with Khabib) has been temporarily suspended from his sport.
However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission are still investigating exactly what happened on October 6, and there won't be any concrete decisions made until the hearing on October 24. After what went down inside the octagon that night, he may want a little break from the sport anyway...