With the McGregor Forever documentary series streaming now on Netflix, director Gotham Chopra has revealed inside information on the former two-division UFC champion’s mentality. McGregor has spent the past two years absent from competition following a broken leg sustained in his latest outing against Dustin Poirier.
Chopra recently revealed to MMAFighting that McGregor was a “mad scientist” even in the aftermath of the gruesome injury, comparing him to other all-time great athletes like Tom Brady.
“McGregor Forever” Director Declares Conor “Mad Scientist”
“I’d say what’s in common is this relentless work ethic. This obsession with getting it right. I’ve seen it with Tom in throwing sessions or Steph Curry in shooting sessions.
You’re talking in Tom’s case the greatest of all time with quarterbacks, or Steph Curry, the greatest shooter of all-time or in LeBron’s case, they are like mad scientists in the laboratory.
I’ve seen this with Conor in his practice sessions. He’s obsessing over little things. [We shot a lot of footage in training] and Conor will look at the tape and every little movement. He’s a mad scientist.
He’s a perfectionist. It’s like you’re supposed to work out for two hours and four hours later you’re still going. Always looking for that next level, that edge to get it right. That’s what’s in common.”
Chopra directed similar documentaries following sporting luminaries such as Man in the Arena: Tom Brady and Shut Up and Dribble, which focused on LeBron James. Chopra discussed McGregor’s attitude to losing as captured in his documentary.
“One of the things that’s interesting about Conor, when he loses and he’s lost a couple of fights in the past few years, everyone else freaks out — he very much doesn’t.
He’s like you don’t fight this much and not lose. Losing is definitely part of the journey. He’s not precious about it. He’s very interesting. He’s instantly analyzing and ready for the next fight.
You see that in that crazy hospital scene. We’ve all seen his ankle snap and there’s another scene where he’s trying to convince the doctor ‘no, I’ll be fine, give me a couple of months.’ He’s already planning his comeback, his next fight. You’re like wow, this is a unique guy.”
Chopra insists that McGregor’s career, despite recent setbacks, is far from over. “Even with the race cars and the yachts and all the money, I’ve never see him say ‘let’s cut this training session short.’ It’s the opposite.
There’s something about the sport, you cannot do that. You can’t walk into the octagon unprepared. You will get your ass beat or worse. You just can’t do it so he does seem mentally and emotionally there still.
He’s very committed. His career is not over.”
