Andrew McGahon of the Severe MMA podcast has returned from the salubrious surrounds of the Hooters Hotel in Vegas and spoke to us on the Racket yesterday evening.
Despite the loss of Ireland's golden boy, McGahon was invigorated by the night's events, describing it as an evening to restore one's faith in MMA.
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Before game ball, there was an eerily different feel about the crowd. The Ole Ole merchants no longer enjoyed the run of the pitch as they have in the past.
The arena was definitely not as stacked as it has been in the past for Conor. How many opponents have walked into the MGM, either Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes or Dustin Poirier and been faced with the Irish support like that. And that's already a mental strain on top of them...
When Dustin Poirier and Mendes fought him there were USA, USA chants but the USA chants really started to get a pick-up when Diaz landed a couple of strikes. Where I was in crowd I was sitting next to a load of my mates, we were embedded within a lot of Stocktonites or Californians who were there, and there it was a weird atmosphere, a cagey atmosphere. There seemed to be something different.
McGregor buzzword of the fight's aftermath was 'inefficiency'. The other mantra which he clung to was 'I'll take it like a man'. Ths stiff-jawed dignity seemed to impress many detractors in the aftermath.
The way that Conor has reacted to the loss has won a lot of people over who had previously hated him for the way that he goes on cos ye see what's he's like when he's been defeated or re-affirmed to some people that he's actually a good guy.
He also talked about hitting upon an ingenious method for avoiding jet lag. On the podcast, we almost touched on Christy Moore and eight other figures one might not have guessed were schools rugby players.
'Joxer Goes To Kiely's' as Donny Mahoney ingeniously termed the segment.
