Conor McGregor Looks For His Biggest Win Yet At UFC 194 Vs. Jose Aldo

After dozens of interviews on the media day set up to promote his UFC 194 main event, Conor McGregor’s interest was piqued when told that John Kavanagh had seemingly given away his deepest, darkest secret.

“What did John say?” asked the interim UFC featherweight champion.

It was far from negative. McGregor’s longtime coach, always a straight shooter, revealed that despite the flashy image and constant talk of fame and money from his charge, “The Notorious” wasn’t motivated by any of that. Instead, it was all about the competition.

“I am certainly motivated by the competition,” McGregor said. “I enjoy new challenges and the prospect of silencing critics and proving the people that are supporting me correct. As well, I am also motivated by money. It is not the only thing, but it is certainly a small thing.”

The fighting pride of Dublin, Ireland laughed, clearly at ease as the biggest fight of his life against Jose Aldo approached. That wasn’t the case five months earlier, when a knee injury, an opponent change and an emotional interim title fight against Chad Mendes all conspired to put McGregor in an ill mood.

Given everything that happened in the early summer, no one would have blamed McGregor if he decided to withdraw from the UFC 189 bout after Aldo pulled out due to injury. But he didn’t. It said a lot about a fighter some assumed was all flash, but little substance. To defeat Mendes said even more.

“Winning the fight and going through with the fight, that’s my character, my mental strength,” he said. “The reason I didn’t pull out was because a lot of people saved up so much money to travel and take part in the event, and then there were the people who created the event — Lorenzo (Fertitta), Dana (White), the company — and everyone who works so hard, and so much work went into it.

“If I would have walked, it would have flushed the company’s money down the toilet, and that’s not what I’m about. I’m about generating revenue for this great company, generating revenue for myself, and giving the fans what they paid for.”