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Having spent more than a year out of the UFC since his last fight, McGregor said his time was a “wild ride.”
“It’s been a ride, I did it and I’m here,” McGregor said during his pre-fight press conference.
“Crazy as a brush. I’ve been through all of this. It’s been a wild ride for me. It hasn’t been easy at times. What a life and I tell you, I don’t want it to be any other way. I’m so excited to be back here. . I am very excited to have fans here. I feel revitalized. I am going to paint a beautiful picture inside this octagon on Saturday night and I am very excited to do it. “
However, Poirier says he learned a lot from that loss and six years later, he is a very different fighter.
“I was frustrated and caught up in the whole war of words that led to the fight. And he’s one of the best at it, getting under your skin, getting mad. Now, that’s just noise to me.”
Chaotic fight in silence
There will be very little noise on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi this Saturday with only 2,000 fans allowed to attend due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having beaten Dan Hooker in front of no fans in Las Vegas last June, Poirier says he prefers the sound of silence.
“I liked fighting without a crowd. Yeah, like I know some fighters feed off the energy of the crowd and want to cheer up and things like that. For the first time in my career, I fought with no one present in 2020, last year. And I thought it was quiet, it was more peaceful.
“The fighting is chaotic. Your brain moves at a million miles an hour and on a regular fight night you have people hovering over things trying to grab you when you walk into the octagon and people screaming and things like that. It just does. more chaotic and peaceful.
“It also makes the fight more intimate. When you’re standing in front of that guy, you’re not hearing thousands of screams, you’re listening to your own thoughts, you’re listening to the announcers talking. It’s really weird, man. It was a great experience going to that “.
Champion in his own right
A former interim lightweight champion, Poirier has won 26 of 33 mixed martial arts bouts. He is the only man who has faced McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing to both.
“And I think it’s amazing, man. It transcends fighting. And I don’t take it lightly. I am very grateful for the position I am in and the platform that I have to raise awareness, be a voice for the voiceless. “.
Poirier is especially proud to build an accessible playground for disabled children in his hometown, which the UFC fighter says was a dying boy’s wish for a space where he and his friends could play. “That is very important to me,” adds Poirier.
“Everything I wear in the Octagon will be auctioned the following week. I keep memories. And I keep a part of that goal where the money goes to my heart every time. That is more valuable to me than a pair of damn gloves. . ”
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