He is one of the most successful MMA fighters in the world, the superstar of combat sports, the Irishman with an explosive character and a sharp tongue, who became one of the most significant and wealthy athletes of his time. Conor McGregor has known success and failure and was not born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He arrived in Bulgaria on Thursday to be a guest at the „MAX Fight 56“ gala evening in the „Arena Sofia“ hall.

See what McGregor told about his life before his stellar sports career, his worst injury and his hunger for victory in the show „Focus on Laura Krumova“ on NOVA.

Welcome to Bulgaria and to our show!

It’s an honor to be here.

We are honored. Is it your first time in Bulgaria?

Yes. I am in Bulgaria for the first time.

Why are you here?

I’m here for my brand of whiskey. We had a huge success with it, it became a global phenomenon. Now we are presenting it in Sofia and in Bulgaria as a whole. I am very proud of this and it is a great honor for me. I wanted to come and share love, support and strengthen our bonds. It’s my first time here, people are very nice to me. I also came to watch the fight show. I will see what MMA talents Bulgaria has. My whiskey brand supports the event.

Do you train with Bulgarian fighters?

No. But I’m definitely looking for people to train with. If I stay here longer, I’ll need fighters to train with for sure.

How is it different fighting now that you’re so successful compared to when you started when you weren’t a star and you didn’t have the money and the opportunities?

I strive for competition, it is my driving force. I’m not fighting for money or popularity, but for the feeling of competing with yourself and putting the skills you’ve practiced in the gym to the test on a big stage. So it makes no difference to me whether I fight in front of one person or in front of a million people. You fight again, you compete again. The feelings are the same.

Can success spoil a person? Has your success spoiled you?

No. People would say that, but here I am – working harder than ever. So I wouldn’t say that.

Why do they say it then?

When you wake up and have everything – someone who cooks for you, nice clothes, expensive and nice things, you can lose motivation. But I always aim for the competition. It calms me down, it’s my medicine. You know, I haven’t competed in a few years due to an injury that I recently recovered from. I am very happy and feel blessed. I thank God and the doctors who helped me. I’m looking forward to getting back into racing. I’m hungry to win and I’m very excited.

How many nails do you have in your left foot?

I have a metal plate, a titanium iron from my knee to my ankle. So my leg can no longer be broken.

So you’re better now?

I’m stronger, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator from Terminator 2.

Is it true that you have ever worked as a plumber?

Yes.

Were you good at your job?

No, but I could make great tea! (laughs) That was in my younger years, I was just an apprentice learning the trade. But while I was learning the trade, I was also training to be a fighter. And at one point I took a risk that paid off.

Have you repaired the plumbing of your fans?

I was an industrial plumber, working on big sites like this. I did the water system in such buildings where the pipes are cast iron, big and heavy. It’s harder work. I have not renovated in residential buildings.

How many jobs have you changed while struggling to become the fighter you are now?

I’ve worked a few things, I was a food delivery guy with my dad many years ago. We delivered crisps and cakes to shops in Ireland. We went around in a van, stopped in front of shops and delivered chips, sweets, chocolate and I lined them up on the shelves. But Thank God I discovered combat sports and it worked.

I watched an interview where you said you were a women’s boxing coach. Is it true?

Yes, that’s true. Right before I made my UFC debut. I had already become a two-division world champion in a reputable organization, but there was no money in it. So I had to start working at the gym where I trained as a women’s boxing coach. I coached my mom, my sisters and their girlfriends.
I was paid 5 euros per hour per person and sometimes only one person would come. Accordingly, I only had 5 euros for the whole week. With that 5 euros, I would go to the store to buy a box of chicken fillet, a packet of broccoli and a small packet of tomato sauce, and that was my food for a whole week.

Did you train your mom?

Yes, my mother, my sisters and a few other ladies who used to come to practice. Sometimes a few came, said they would come, and then didn’t show up. So I was left with one person each.

Did they have the same sportsmanship that you display while fighting?

No, I was a good coach. I kept them in good shape and had a good system. And actually being a trainer allowed me to spend more time in the gym, so I had to be dedicated. I couldn’t just not come because these ladies were waiting for me. I had to be there even on the days I didn’t want to train, I had to go. It helped me spend more time in the gym, which in turn led to me being a better fighter.

How old were you when you first entered the gym and became a fighter?

I had been training boxing and kickboxing since I was a teenager, but MMA was a very new sport. It did not exist in Ireland and there was only one place where it could be practiced – the Straight Plus gym. I was met there by my coach, who works with me to this day. I joined his gym around 16 or 17 years old and started training MMA. Two or three weeks later I got into my first fight. The rest is history.

Really the rest is history. Do your loved ones – your mother, your wife, watch your meetings?

Yes, my mother is watching with her eyes closed. She may sit ringside at first, but when the fight starts, she runs out of the room. It’s hard for my family and loved ones, even for me. It’s easier to fight inside than to watch someone I know fight.

And how do you see your meetings? You have many successes, but you are also defeated. How hard is it to watch your loss?

Wins and losses are part of the game. This is the MMA adventure. It’s not so much about the results, it’s about the lessons along the way. How I watch the matches – I put on my glasses, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen, and watch every detail. I write down everything I haven’t noticed.

And is it painful to watch?

No, I pride myself on my fighting skills. That takes a lot of courage. I’ve had great successes, some bigger than others, and a lot of losses too. It’s part of my path and I’m proud of it. But I’m moving on. My story is far from over.

Are successes or failures better teachers?

You can say you learn more from losses, for sure. But you may also feel complacent after successes. If you win once, you’re a winner. You don’t have to practice, you’re the best. Your mind can become lazy. You start to have an ego, and in martial arts you can’t have an ego. In the hall we say: Leave your ego at the door. It works both ways. It is important to stay focused and focus on the lessons regardless of the result. That’s how we get better.

Usually behind every great athlete there is a crazy parent who sacrifices and is ambitious. Do you have one?

My mother, I have great parents who are with me to this day, Thank God. My mother and father are good to me. My mother would do anything for me for sure. When I quit my job as a plumber I left saying, “I’m not coming back. This is not for me.“ I said I was going to become a professional fighter. But nobody in Ireland or in MMA at all had a steady career in the sport, you always have to have a second or third job. It wasn’t a permanent job.

Did they support you?

My father not so much. Everyone was worried. Not that they didn’t support me, they were just concerned. They didn’t understand. They didn’t see what I saw.

Who did you inherit your character from?

Equally from my mother and father. (laughing)

So you are one crazy family?

I am a good person with a good heart. But sometimes I lose my temper. This is life.

I watched a documentary about you on Netflix. A great movie! What is it like to let a camera follow you everywhere? And not only in the successful moments, but also in the darkest moments when you are broken?

It’s tough. You’re probably talking about the latest documentary, McGregor Forever. It’s the hardest for me to look at because it shows both my highs and lows. Along with all my successes you also see a broken man on the operating table, alone with his thoughts. There are a lot of tough times in sports, but that’s part of it. This is my adventure, I’ve been on it since I was 16, there have been cameras around me since then. We are walking this path with my fans, they have been with me since the beginning. This is not propaganda, you will not only see the best of me, I show everything. I always say to the fighters, as well as to myself: „If you show yourself to the world and bare your soul and fight with all your heart, the world will respond with love“. This happened to me.

Is this the hardest moment in your life – when you broke your leg?

Certainly in my sports career, yes. A very difficult moment.

Are you recovering?

No. I’m not recovering, I’m already recovered! But in martial arts there is so much politics behind the scenes and now I’m looking forward to getting back to my lifestyle.

Will you be back in the ring?

Time to let me back in. I hope they put me on the anti-doping agency’s testing list. They tested me twice in one hour. Two days ago they came to my yacht and took my blood and urine, three samples each. An hour later they came back to do it again. They do a lot of tests on me. I am doing my best to get a new date and start preparing for my fight. May God grant and it will happen soon.

May God be with you. All the fans will be there for you. Thank you for this visit!

Thank you too, it means a lot to me. Thanks!

Материалът Conor McGregor: I lived on €5 a week, I bought myself chicken, broccoli and tomato sauce е публикуван за пръв път на Vihrogon.bg.