Conor McGregor engages in epic trash talk war with Cole Miller, Chad Mendes
Call him Chael Sonnen with an Irish brogue.
Conor McGregor might be the best trash talker in MMA not nicknamed "The American Gangster" and the Irishman's skills were on full display Monday on MMA Fighting's "The MMA Hour." Host Ariel Helwani had McGregor and his next opponent, Cole Miller, on the phone together and fireworks ensued.
McGregor called Miller a "jobber," wanted Miller to thank him for making him relevant and also called Chad Mendes a "midget Phil Baroni." At one point, McGregor ripped Miller for only being on the UFC's Facebook prelims previously, even if that isn't actually correct.
"The motherf****r couldn’t even get off Facebook," McGregor said. "Mark Zuckerberg rang to get the man off Facebook. Nobody cares about him. … Eighteen fights in the UFC and one time he mentions my name and where does he end up? He ends up in the main event. I want him to thank me."
Miller countered by saying that McGregor is weak on the ground and that his shtick is copied from taunts by Muhammad Ali and the "Rocky" movies. The two will meet at UFC Fight Night in Dublin, McGregor's hometown, on July 19, a card that will air on UFC Fight Pass.
"He thinks the fans are stupid, so he's going to keep recycling s**t that people have already said in the past," Miller said.
McGregor also went after Miller's American Top Team training partner Dustin Poirier, another featherweight contender, and Mendes, who challenges champion Jose Aldo at UFC 176 on Aug. 2 in Los Angeles.
"I think Mendes should be a 135er," McGregor said. "He looks blown out at 145. He looks like a little bodybuilder. His body is not built for combat."
Later on the show, Helwani interviewed Mendes, who, as you might imagine, did not take kindly to McGregor's crap talk.
"This guy is just a s**t talker who is trying to get to the top without doing the work," Mendes said. "He needs to take his stupid-ass haircut, his goofy little suits and fight someone in the top five and prove himself before he doesn't any of that."
McGregor, 25, is 2-0 in the UFC and coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL. His biggest victory is against Max Holloway, but his swagger and mouth have made McGregor hugely popular. He's also quite the cult figure in his native Ireland. McGregor said he wants to bet UFC president Dana White a title shot that the Dublin show will be the quickest to sell out in UFC history.
"I will be the champion by the end of the year," McGregor said. "I'm already the champion right now. I'm the people's champion."
McGregor said he'll knock Miller out in the first exchange. Miller said he'll submit McGregor quickly. For a guy ranked No. 13 in the division fighting someone not ranked at all, this bout is going to have quite the build up.
"His jaw is going to be so weak from running his mouth, the first punch I hit him with is going to knock him out," Miller said.
McGregor said Miller is too slow and that the UFC brought him in to lose.
"Cole, you're 42," McGregor said. "You're balding. Nobody gives a f**k. … I want the top 10. I don’t want you. I never even asked for you. You're a has-been. You're a schmuck."
In a single interview, McGregor has made next bout against Miller and a future one against Mendes very interesting.
