The former UFC middleweight contender and current Bellator veteran explains why Conor McGregor enjoys such peerless fame and glory
In short, Sonnen believes that it is the Irishman’s confidence which has earned him his legion of fans.
Sonnen is perhaps the greatest trash talker in MMA to have preceded the arrival of Conor McGregor and emitted an impressive level of confidence himself. As someone with a comprehensive knowledge of the mental aspect of the fight game, Sonnen broke down the facet of McGregor’s personality which truly appeals to fans:
“People always miss what Conor’s selling,” Sonnen recently said in a video uploaded to his Youtube. “[People say], ‘He’s selling trash-talk’ or ‘he’s selling entertainment.’ Wel, you’re close; I mean, there is some trash-talk there and he’s definitely entertaining. But if you could only use one word, he’s selling confidence – that is the number one thing.”
“Anybody, any weight class, and it’s one thing to say [that] – it can be entertaining when a guy says it and goes and cuts a promo – but when you got a guy that walks the walk. You got a guy that will take on Jose Aldo – who hadn’t lost in ten years. You got a guy that will change weight-class and go up to 170[lbs] and take on [Nate] Diaz, go down to 155[lbs] [and fight for the] world championship and take on Eddie [Alvarez], switch sports and take on [Floyd Mayweather Junior]. It’s confidence that he’s selling, it’s confidence that’s on display, it’s a confidence that so many people wish they had. Everybody, everybody wishes they had this kind of confidence and then go out and try to follow through on their dreams.”
