Charles Oliveira is sympathetic to the struggle Conor McGregor currently faces. The Irishman, who once held the lightweight belt Oliveira now wields, will be recovering from his broken leg for at least the next year. McGregor had expressed aspirations to fight for the lightweight title once more, but this surely puts a stop to those plans, at least for now.
However, Oliveira told MMAFighting that he hopes McGregor recovers, saying it would be “good for the sport”: “I hope he comes back 100 percent again and continues to put on a show and making things happen, because he sells a lot. He’s a guy that does a lot for the sport.”
Oliveira: a returning McGregor “good for the sport”
Oliveira is no stranger to adversity. It took him ten years, with ups, downs, and losses on the way, to claim a UFC title. He acknowledges the importance of mental fortitude in MMA, due in part to the innate unpredictability of fighting.
“It’s a new Charles, a new story since my last loss. It’s a new mind, a new spirit, a new person today. That’s up to you and how your mind operates, how much your spirit wants it, how much your heart desires it. When people say you can’t do something, if you tell yourself you can, then you can do it.
It’s up to his head, how much he still wants this. Some people had serious injuries and bounced back. Let’s see how much Conor wants to return, how much Conor wants to fight again.”
Oliveira also weighed in on the trilogy fight itself: “We’re talking about MMA. A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, he would be dead tired in the second round,’ but I’m talking as an athlete here.
This is MMA and anything can happen. A hand can land, a knee, anything, and he could win. It was a good fight up until that point.
Dustin turned things around in the fight the moment he was able to take him down and work with his elbows on the ground and pound, but, unfortunately, Conor suffered an injury and that is sad for the sport.
It happened. It’s so sad that it happened. I congratulate Dustin for his evolution, for the fight, for being smart, but it is sad. The way it happened was sad.”
Charles Oliveira’s next fight will likely be against Dustin Poirier in his first title defence. Do you agree that if McGregor comes back, it will be good for MMA, or is the era of the Mystic Mac over? Let us know in the comments.
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