Respect is earned through action as opposed to words. That's always been true and it's not about to change anytime soon. It's true in all walks of life but perhaps it's most neatly displayed in combat sports such as boxing and MMA. Big talkers are easy to find, big fighters are so much rarer.
Where Conor McGregor crossed that indefinite line is up for debate. Some would say it was after his first couple of UFC bouts. Others would point to the win over Chad Mendes, while a large amount would say he's only just after crossing it with his KO of Jose Aldo.
There's few who could still legitimately claim that he's nothing more than a mouth. Where once there was questioning, there's now respect. Take for example Anthony Pettis who was one of many who was less than enamoured with McGregor's 'interim' title after the win over Mendes. The lightweight contender was not exactly disrespectful but he still held the belief that McGregor 'hasn't beat no one yet'.
That changed at UFC 194 of course and Pettis, speaking to Jon Anik and Kenny Florian, has given a very good example of the change in McGregor's status among fellow fighters.
To see the guy talk the talk and then beat Aldo like that. We've had some great guys go down there and try to beat Jose Aldo and it didn't work. McGregor comes along talking the talk and then he walks the walk. You've got to respect that. It's great for the lighter weight classes. He's bringing in the numbers like he says. People want to watch him fight.
Pettis, who is preparing to fight Eddie Alvarez on the Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz card on January 17th, went on to address the manner in which other fighters are now crawling over each other to try and get a shot at McGregor and it's fair to say he won't getting down and dirty in that regard anytime soon.
I feel it's annoying to see everybody try to call him out now. The guy made his name on his own and all these guys are trying to take his shine. I guess that's the sport. Somebody comes in and creates their name, their buzz gets big and somebody else tries to steal it.
The interesting thing is, Pettis may be talking himself out of a shot of McGregor with that kind of respect. As the former lightweight champ, he would certainly be in the discussion for McGregor's first lightweight bout in the UFC but respect doesn't sell quite so well.
