16 May 2023 , 14:39
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Conor McGregor's fighting attitude has been compared to NBA legend Kobe Bryant and NFL star Tom Brady ahead of his UFC return.
UFC superstar McGregor has been out of action for two years after back-to-back defeats against Dustin Poirier, but will finally return in 2023 in a comeback fight against Michael Chandler. The Irishman will be looking to reverse his recent form in the octagon having recorded just one win in his last four appearances.
Throughout his career, he has broken records and continued to fight at the top level despite critics continuing to question whether his desire for fighting remains. And director of his upcoming Netflix documentary McGregor Forever, Gotham Chopra, suggested that he has seen McGregor's spirit up close despite achieving huge fame and fortune from his fighting career.
"He's a mad scientist. You know, he's obsessive," director Chopra told BroBible when assessing McGregor in the fighting world after working with the UFC star. "Personality-wise, he's quite similar to Kobe [Bryant], like there's a defiance and a combativeness to him of course. But he couldn't be opposite of Tom Brady or Steph Curry I would say as the most gentle guy.
"Despite all of the fame and the fortune and all the people that are always around him, that's not what it's about. For him, it's about can I be better and that is pretty similar. He always like looks back, 'I could've done this different and so therefore I'm going to try it again.'"
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McGregor has earned huge money from his career and could comfortably retire from fighting, but he has instead set his sights on a UFC revival starting this year. The 34-year-old has piled on the pounds and is eyeing redemption at 170lb, including a future potential title shot against current champion Leon Edwards.
McGregor is preparing for a return to UFC (Getty Images)Do you think Conor McGregor will win his UFC comeback fight against Michael Chandler? Let us know in the comments section below
However another defeat could be an extremely damaging blow, given he has just two fights remaining on his current contract with the UFC. And UFC veteran Matt Brown believes he could indeed face retirement if he is unable to progress beyond Chandler.
“I have a hard time seeing Conor fighting again if he comes back and he loses, especially a bad loss like that,” Brown told MMA Fighting. “He doesn’t have any reason to [fight again]. He’s coming back because he loves fighting and he wants to put on a show and he wants to be a champion again.
"I’m sure. I can’t imagine him having the motivation to fight again if he comes back and gets knocked out by Michael Chandler. I think if Chandler does that, he uses that experience to his advantage, this might be his fight and we don’t see Conor again. He might send Conor into retirement.”