Paid Members lambyUK Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 Maybe he wants to be there for the hospital visits, be there to decorate a baby room, put together furniture, be there to buy a stroller & car seat, etc - and just be there for the journey with her, while his girlfriend is carrying their first child. These are all important things, and he keeps emphasising that family comes first. He doesn't need to squeeze in another fight while he's having a child. Why would he? For money? And why cause her undue stress? Â Plus he fought 4 times in 11 months. I'm not asking this in a cheeky way, but do you have kids? If you do fair enough, but I've got 2 children, one a few months off being 3 and one 11 months old. Â Whilst I'm not saying what you've said isn't important, you're overstating how frequent and just how important they are. Â After 20 weeks there are no further hospital visits, buying buggies isn't something that takes hours of your time and it's something you only tend to buy right towards the end of the pregnancy. Â You say he's emphasising family comes first. Well the time out would far better be spent with the baby itself than shopping around for the perfect car seat and rubbing vaseline on his other half's belly in the hope of avoiding stretch marks. Â I take on your point about him fighting 4 times in a short space of time, but in the end that's not the reason he's said he's taking the time off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 I know what you mean, Lamby - but I'm looking at it from Conor's POV - he's a fighter; we can't imagine the stress of that on a girlfriend or wife.  Yeah, I have 2 kids - 4 and 6. The first one was more of a "milestone" than the 2nd, as you're aware. And I enjoyed doing those things with my wife in the lead-up to it - going into the appointments, picking out furniture, ordering buggies, decorating the baby room, new car, etc. I know it doesn't take 9 months to do all that, but Conor said family comes first - so why would he bugger off and do a full camp & then a fight while she's pregnant? He wants to be there with her & enjoy the well-earned time off.  Whilst I'm not saying what you've said isn't important, you're overstating how frequent and just how important they are.  I'm not overstating how important it is - I'm saying it's up to Conor to decide how important he feels it is, vs scheduling a fight during that time. He owes us nothing, and he's opted to take some time off and spend it with his pregnant girlfriend & family, and I can't blame him at all. I'd rather be there than not, if I were him. He doesn't work a 9-5. Him deciding to work means he's essentially gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 To be fair you've made a really good point that I didn't even consider (typical man?) and that's the stress on his girlfriend. Â She must be a wreck during his fights and it's the last thing she needs during pregnancy. Â I think whichever way you look at it in reality if he truly means what he says, and that family comes first, then he needs this whole year off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 Yeah - he needs the whole year IMO. But 1) he doesn't want to get rusty & obviously likes to stay busy, and 2) he has NO idea how much work a baby is.  We had our first baby in September 2010 - I remember texting my MMA coach and telling him that once we were in a routine I'd be back training - "probably around the end of October" (which gave us 7 weeks-ish). That was over 6 years ago... I have gone back a few times for a few months at a time, but man - babies knock the shit out of you. Everything changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 22, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 At the end of the day he doesn't have to answer to us. If he wants to take the time off he can. We've got to remember that these fighters can take a break from fighting anytime, for however long they want. The reason most don't is because they can't afford to - either financially or career momentum-wise. Neither of which is really an issue for McGregor. He doesn't have to rush back for money and he's a big enough name that he could probably take a year off and his return would be massive. I can't think of a better reason for wanting to step away than his girlfriend having their first baby and I totally get the worry that he doesn't want to put her through the stress of him fighting while she's carrying their baby. I get that from all angles. I've been through losing a baby and it was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with. And my sister had a few kickboxing fights years ago and I could barely watch I was so nervous. And that was just at a low level. I can't imagine the stress Conor's mrs goes through given how high profile his fights are. Â Even though chances are she'd be fine if he fought, why take the risk? He's in the position where he doesn't need the money at this point. Plus he's fought a lot the last year which isn't just fights, it's the back to back training camps that will sap you. Not to mention the endless media and promotional stuff. The timing sucks for the UFC and from a fan POV but it makes all the sense in the world to me why Conor is doing it this way. If I would've been in a position financially to take the whole of my wife's pregnancy off when she was carrying my daughter I'd have done it as well, obviously. He's the luckiest man in the world to be in a position to do that. Â If Ronda can take a year out because she got her arse kicked, Conor can certainly take some time off to enjoy the experience of becoming a dad for the first time. It's not about him needing 10 months or a year off. It's really down to how much time he wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members John Matrix Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 Yeah - he needs the whole year IMO. But 1) he doesn't want to get rusty & obviously likes to stay busy, and 2) he has NO idea how much work a baby is.  We had our first baby in September 2010 - I remember texting my MMA coach and telling him that once we were in a routine I'd be back training - "probably around the end of October" (which gave us 7 weeks-ish). That was over 6 years ago... I have gone back a few times for a few months at a time, but man - babies knock the shit out of you. Everything changes.  Haha, this is SO true I had to acknowledge it. I was due to return in goal for my five a side team in 'about 8 weeks' after the birth of my first child. My second is just over a year old now...  ...as you were.   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 I think some maybe underestimate how bloody hard fighting is. Never mind operating at the level McGregor does. Â I can only imagine how intense and wearing the way McGregor is constantly red lining in the gym, while coping with the birth of his first born on top of it. Personally, I think it's commendable he's not a total scum bag and is putting his career on hold. Granted, as wand points out, he is lucky he can afford to do it, but at the same time he's missing out on millions and millions. Â The fight game is a rough way to make money. Even if I was promised a McGregor pay cheque for one of his fights, I think I'd be lucky to make it out of the first day of his training without realising I'm a man that should be on the couch, pondering whether I can be arsed getting up to get the remote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 It's a very commendable decision for McGregor, when you consider not only the potential millions he misses out on, but also the valuable time he loses from his already-short career as a sportsman. It's good that he's got enough perspective to say "Nah, I've got plenty of money now, a few more millions is much of a muchness, and there are some things in life worth more than money". Bear in mind he's talked about how she supported him back when they were poor and he was jobless and starting out in MMA, so it's good to see he wants to make sacrifices for her too. Â It's lucky he's doing MMA, rather than a team sport; he wouldn't have had the option to do this otherwise. But it could also work out in the long run; the UFC might be able to make it an even bigger deal when he comes back, and raise the buy-rates even further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mole Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 He'll still be training, it's the fights that gets her worried. Â It all depends on what he wants to do when the child's born, it's not like his girlfriend or family members need to work just now, he can get all the help he needs as well as many sports men with kids do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2017 It's a very commendable decision for McGregor yeh, it's one of McGregor's most endearing qualities. The guy is a superstar, has the combat sports world in the palm of his hand and could likely have any woman he wants and be be surrounded by money grabbing hangers on, yet he stays committed to a childhood sweetheart, is a dedicated family man and he's fiercely loyal to the people who got him to where he is. It's hard to root against a guy who has qualities like that. Â When McGregor was asked about the baby at a presser, he dropped the persona and answered like any other young man would expecting a first child. Behind it all he's a humble guy that just so happens to play the game better than anyone else, i love the bloke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 http://m.uk.ufc.com/news/Allen-set-to-face-Amirkhani-in-London?id=&id%3D= Â Another fight added to the london card, thats 11 fights now but yet still no main event. The main event bracket is empty on ufc.com and says to be announced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chunk Posted January 24, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 24, 2017 Arnold Allen Vs Makwan Amirkhani.  Like that fight. Does Amirkhani still train at SBG?   Anyone managed to find ticket prices online yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 24, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 24, 2017 What are they playing at with the main event? It's only a Fight Pass show so it should be easier to find a solid headliner if anything. Not like they have to find huge names or have a title fight or something. Even something like the Arlovski vs Ngannou fight from this weekend's FOX show would've done as a decent main event. There must be something on that level they could've sorted by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 It's a very commendable decision for McGregor, when you consider not only the potential millions he misses out on, but also the valuable time he loses from his already-short career as a sportsman. It's good that he's got enough perspective to say "Nah, I've got plenty of money now, a few more millions is much of a muchness, and there are some things in life worth more than money". Bear in mind he's talked about how she supported him back when they were poor and he was jobless and starting out in MMA, so it's good to see he wants to make sacrifices for her too. Â It's lucky he's doing MMA, rather than a team sport; he wouldn't have had the option to do this otherwise. But it could also work out in the long run; the UFC might be able to make it an even bigger deal when he comes back, and raise the buy-rates even further. Â It's actually the smarter career move in my opinion. He can take some time off and let the lightweight division sort itself out, all the while the anticipation for him to fight becomes more and more prevalent. Â In fact, if I was him I'd tell the UFC that I was only fighting twice a year, on Super Bowl weekend and New Years Eve. Prolong his career, make the fights matter and build anticipation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted January 24, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 24, 2017 It will be interesting to see how he manages his career after the baby is born. McGregor has spoken about enjoying fighting regularly, but that may change. If he only fancies fighting a few more years, say, then maybe he feels he needs to pack as much fights in as possible to bolster his already impressive retirement fund. Â Thing is, if he was to retire tomorrow, he's got so many opportunities outside the fight game. Unlike Rousey, he leaves with his image very much undamaged; those film roles sure have dried up for Rousey, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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