Sinead O'Connor to sing Conor McGregor to the Octagon at UFC 189
Ireland's biggest MMA star will have his walk to the Octagon at UFC 189 accompanied by a live performance from one of Ireland's biggest pop icons. Singer Sinead O'Connor announced on her Facebook page that she is headed to Las Vegas to sing Conor McGregor out to his interim featherweight title fight against Chad Mendes on July 11.
"Yay! Just got my A1 Visa to go to Las Vegas and sing Conor McGregor into his fight!!!" she posted.
She also said that she'd be singing a rendition of Irish folk song, "The Foggy Dew." The anthem celebrates a seminal moment in Ireland's complicated political history, The Easter Uprising of 1916, and McGregor usually uses that song, mixed with the Notorious B.I.G. song "Hypnotize."
The ill-fated republican rebellion sought to galvanize Irish people around the cause of independence from the British during World War I. "It was England bade our Wild Geese go / That small nations might be free / But their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves ... In the springtime of the year / While the world did gaze with deep amaze / At those fearless men and few / Who bore the fight that freedom's light / Might shine through the foggy dew," the song goes.
McGregor's Irish identification and pride run deep, and he seems well-paired with O'Connor, who never has shied away from politics or controversy.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has had 50 Cent rap him to the ring and Manny Pacquiao has sung himself out to a fight, like a boss, but Conor may very well be the first UFC fighter to have anything of the sort.
Now, the only question is if this song alone will accompany McGregor's walk to the Octagon, or if the Biggie beat still will drop at some point.
Tune in July 11 to find out!
