Conor McGregor admits whiskey business led to too much drinking: ‘I was trapped and caught’
· Yahoo Sports
Conor McGregor returns to action at UFC 329 against Max Holloway for the first time in five years, and a lot has happened since he last fought in the cage. There have been legal troubles, disturbing sexual assault allegations, cheating scandals, and admissions of substance abuse.
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Not the kind of things that pave the way towards a successful comeback. Yet McGregor sounded confident during UFC 329 media day, even as he addressed some of the doubts and questions being raised by the media.
“You know, there’s nothing better than proving people wrong,” McGregor said. “People are entitled to their opinion. Some are valid. You know, there’s some questions. Time out, injury, lifestyle, yada yada yada. I know, I know … Let’s go. We’re gonna go inside that night and shut them all up again. The business is on the rise. The money is coming in. So get into this game, baby, while rocking and rolling. The Mac is back.”
During the lead-up to UFC 329, McGregor has admitted that he lost his way due to money and fame. A big part of his fortune came from his former whiskey brand, and he admitted he got a little too wrapped up in the product while promoting it.
“I launched an Irish whiskey,” he said. “I didn’t drink heavily, if at all, in that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, there’s thousands upon thousands of bottles in my garage. ‘Sell this, Conor.’ ‘Okay.’ I’d leave my property with two bottles under my arm, and that was it. I was caught.”
“You know, I wasn’t used to it. F–king— that’s it. God gave gave me these lessons. That’s it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is.”
The Irish sports star walked a balance between showing appreciation for the fans that have stuck with him through the years and claiming to not care about those who have turned their back on him.
“I’m grateful beyond measure for my fans and their loyalty and their excitement here,” McGregor said. “And as much as I’m back for the love of the game, I am back for the love of the fans.”
When asked about a jury’s guilty verdict in civil court over the rape of Nikita Hand in 2018, McGregor insisted he was innocent.
“I’m an innocent man, and I’ll stand for my innocence until the day I go out,” he said. “And that is still a situation where I fight. There’s a reason it didn’t go where it went, and it went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight. I know the truth, and I know that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. And I know that anything done in darkness will soon come to light. And I trust in God that it’s coming. You best believe it’s coming. And I look very, very forward to the day.”
McGregor’s reputation in his home country of Ireland has sunk over the years, and a run for president on an anti-immigration platform fell apart after “The Notorious” was unable to garner enough support to get on the ballot.
“I’m not here to win anyone back,” he said of his Irish detractors. “I’m here to represent my country. What’s taking place in Ireland is the saddest story in the West. It is a travesty, what is taking place, that our borders are wide open, and that the most violent cultures are just hoisted upon our people in our rural towns. And the crime that has taken place is showing it. And if God wills it, I’ll do it and step in. And that’s it. I hope so. It is what it is.”
“The way people can feed into the propaganda or the lies that are pushed to the people, it is what it is. It’s sad, and it is a sad story of the West in my opinion, as Ireland does not deserve this. Our history deserves a better future, and I pray to our God that it is coming.”
For now, McGregor hopes to defy the odds and beat the very active Max Holloway at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 11th.