Conor McGregor is returning to competing in MMA this Summer and an Oktagon MMA combatant based out of Ireland has weighed in on how much McGregor\u2019s influence has shaped sentiment toward the sport in their home country over the years. Denis Frimpong is the fellow Irish mixed martial artist in question, and he touched upon these thoughts on Bowks Talking Bouts ahead of his last Oktagon MMA contest earlier this year.<\/p>\n
In a separate interview on Bowks Talking Bouts<\/a> with two-division Oktagon MMA champion Will Fleury, he discussed the rise and fall of mixed martial arts in Ireland which, in his viewpoint, undulated with Conor McGregor\u2019s general arc in life. When asked for his thoughts on that characterization as a fellow Irish fighter, Frimpong said [via Bowks Talking Bouts<\/a>],<\/p>\n \u201cI think Conor McGregor and his rise and fall, I suppose, in the public eye is a macrocosm of MMA in Ireland. Because being honest with you, before him, like the MMA scene in Ireland was absolutely tiny. Since him, it\u2019s gotten massive. Because like when you think MMA, forget about Irish MMA, when you think MMA and you speak to people that don\u2019t know MMA or you tell people like, \u201cI\u2019m an MMA fighter.\u201d Oh, is that that stuff Conor McGregor does? Do you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what they say. So, he is like such a symbol of MMA. Yeah, especially in Ireland, that when these things come out about him and his behaviors sort of lead people to think, oh, MMA, that\u2019s what MMA fighters are like. Like that\u2019s what people perceive us as. It\u2019s hard to sort of defend ourselves because MMA fighters are semi-unhinged. You know what I mean? Like to pick a career where you f***ing get in a cage in your underwear like nearly naked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Conor McGregor \u201coutside of MMA\u201d makes MMA fighters look like \u201cf***ing crazed animals\u201d, per Frimpong<\/p>\n