Conor McGregor Will Back Up His Talk Like He Always Does

Check these quick facts out:

♦ First Irish-born UFC champion

♦ Fastest title fight victory in UFC history

♦ First simultaneous multi-division champion in UFC history

♦ First simultaneous multi-division champion in Cage Warriors history

♦ Most consecutive “Performance of the Night” awards in UFC history

♦ Most consecutive post-fight bonuses in UFC history

♦ Most knockouts in UFC featherweight division history

Plain and simply put, when Conor McGregor says he is going to do something, he does it.

After an extended hiatus from the Octagon, “Notorious” returns Saturday night to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the for lightweight title at UFC 229.

I know McGregor isn’t perfect in his career like Nurmagomedov, but the champion hasn’t accepted the kind of fights that the brash Irishman has either.

McGregor fought Nate Diaz when he didn’t have to. He stepped inside the boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather when he didn’t have to.

When push comes to shove, the going gets tough, and all of that, it is McGregor who stands tall.

It will have been almost 22 months since we last saw McGregor destroy Eddie Alvarez and claim the UFC lightweight title while also being the featherweight champion at the same time. That came on the heels of avenging the loss to Diaz with a decision.

A year prior, he flattened the mystique around Jose Aldo by knocking him out in 13 seconds. Chad Mendes, he felt the same fate, as did Dennis Siver, Dustin Poirier and Diego Brandao.

Heck, McGregor even holds a decision win over current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

What does all of this add up to? Besides the fact that he is a quote-machine and a needle mover, McGregor is a bona fide stud athlete. He’s what general managers in other sports dream about: the man.

When the cage door closes and it is just McGregor and Nurmagomedov from the T-Mobile Arena, all that pre-fight trash talk and brashness will be left to the side. McGregor will step up, crack Nurmagomedov with a shot and either continue to attack, or get taken down by the champion.

But either way, you better believe he’ll talk about it afterwards for weeks to come.

UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor Fight Card

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

UFC Lightweight Championship
Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Conor McGregor

Lightweight: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis

Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes

Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov vs. Derrick Lewis

Strawweight: Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)

Flyweight: Jussier Formiga vs. Sergio Pettis

Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs. Jalin Turner

Female Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd vs. Tonya Evinger

Lightweight: Scott Holtzman vs. Alan Patrick

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)

Female Bantamweight: Lina Lansberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya

Lightweight: Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz

Welterweight: Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin