McGregor mirrors ‘Rocky III’ combatants
UFC featherweight lives large, trains hard to face Aldo on Saturday
Ever since the original “Rocky” movies were released, professional fighters around the world have compared themselves to characters from the series.
Most fighters, of course, draw parallels between themselves and the main character. Every so often, there will be a fighter who steps away from the norm and says they are more like one of the villains.
Conor McGregor has outgrown single comparisons. The featherweight said hesees himself like both stars of the third “Rocky” installment during a conference call to promote his Ultimate Fighting Championship title unification bout against Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194 on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.
“I recently watched ‘Rocky III,’ and ... at the start of it, he has a mansion, he’s got seven cars, he’s got this like robot that brings him coffee and stuff, and he’s doing all these ads and talk shows and he’s getting sloppy and lazy,” McGregor said. “Meanwhile Clubber Lang is in a dark alleyway sprinting, throwing shots, visualizing. I kind of smiled watching that because I’m like Rocky in that I have the big houses, I have the cars, I have the robots bringing me coffee every morning, but then at the same time I’m also like Clubber Lang training.
“I’m training like Clubber but I’m living like Rocky, so I think I have a perfect balance right now.”
McGregor quickly became a star by combining dominant performances inside the cage
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Kelvin Gastelum will attempt to quickly bounce back from a split-decision loss to Neil Magny when he takes on Kyle Noke at the MGM Grand Garden on Jan. 2. The bout has been added to the UFC 195 card.
Gastelum returned to 170 pounds to fight Magny on Nov. 21, only to suffer the second loss of his 13-fight pro career. Noke also fought in November,gaining his second straight win with a first-round knockout of Peter Sobotta at UFC 193 on Nov. 14.
UFC 195 will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Carlos Condit and champion Robbie Lawler.
‘CYBORG’ TO STAY AT 145 Rousey’s defeat appears to be having implications beyond the UFC. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s plan to begin cutting weight in anticipation of a potential megafight with Rousey is at least on hold.
Justino, the 145-pound champion for Invicta Fighting Championships, had announced her next fight would be at 140. The organization announced Monday, however, Justino again will defend her featherweight belt in the main event of a Jan. 16 card at The Hangar at OC Fair in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Justino’s challenger at Invicta 15 will be Daria Ibragimova, whohas five first-round submissions during her sevenfight winning streak.
Also, Renata Souza will defend her strawweight title against DeAnna Bennett and UFC veteran Angela Hill will make her Invicta debut against Jodie Esquibel. — Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him: @adamhilllvrj