Conor McGregor took the press conference game to another level as he almost single-handedly promoted UFC 197.
‘The Notorious’ arrived late, destroyed lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, claimed to be cool with Jesus and declared he was running the fight game.
Sitting beside McGregor was Miesha Tate, who is challenging Holly Holm for her bantamweight crown in the UFC 197 co-main event.
Tate described the sensation of sitting in the Dubliner’s vicinity and taking in a true master at work, telling The MMA Hour:
“It’s kind of mind-blowing, honestly.
“I never sat beside Conor before during a press conference and just listened to him doing his full gamut of mental warfare like he did. It was pretty impressive.
“I don’t know where he gets it from but he is really, in his own right, a genius. It was crazy to watch it unfold and jaw-dropping at times. A few times I caught myself laughing and thought, ‘Oh my God, you should not be laughing at this point’.
“He is really funny and very witty. He’s a very, very intelligent man.”
Tate revealed that McGregor showing up almost 30 minutes late irritated UFC president Dana White and caused a lot of stress, and frantic phone calls, for officials backstage.
She said she “would not put it past” McGregor to show up late on purpose, and to get into the mind of RDA.
Tate also stated her belief that an “embarrassed” Ronda Rousey would come back to the promotion. She does not believe ‘Rowdy’, who beat her twice in the past, would be content to walk away from the UFC with a resounding loss to her name.
If she records the win over Holm at UFC 197, Tate feels she will surely be the next fighter to get a crack at Rousey.
“If I got out there and beat the girl that crushed Ronda, that will say a lot… It would be a big selling point,” she said.
