German Atlantis Forum » shes never been a good loser

Fed up of life awaking at the crack of dawn and working miserably as a plumber, Conor McGregor now sleeps well into the afternoon in Las Vegas’ most exclusive suites. Where he laboured in working boots and overalls just a few years ago, McGregor now wears immaculate three-piece suits bought on Rodeo Drive. He journeys between Vegas and Los Angeles in a fleet of cars worthy of his surroundings. His cryptic retirement and the cancellation of his next bout caused shock but, when tracing his swift rise to the pinnacle of the fight game, perhaps we should have seen it coming.Business is never personal but it can be cruel and ruthless, McGregor told Sky Sports in 2014 after just three UFC wins in an eerie foreshadowing of his own fate. The businessman in the dickie bow and cufflinks found a roaring trade in the fight game but he always insisted his fists were money-makers - he became the first athlete in his sport to pocket a seven-figure windfall in his last outing and could now eye different investments of his time. McGregor pulled from UFC 200 UFC confirm Diaz rematch is off after cryptic tweet When a guy like me comes along with the number of people that I bring with me, everyone else has to step aside Conor McGregor in 2015 Little over a year ago, before he beat Dennis Siver, McGregor told Sky Sports: When a guy like me comes along with the number of people that I bring with me, everyone else has to step aside. I feel like a veteran now. I have found comfort in this circus. I find comfort in the uncomfortable. My goal is to be the best version of myself that is possible - and the best version is the greatest fighter of all time. That is my goal.By retiring at the pomp of his abilities and fame McGregor will have established himself as the ringleader of the circus that employs him. Cutting that chord altogether is the act of either a brave or a foolish man - but McGregor signalled an intention to play by his own rules long ago. Conor McGregor lost in March to Nate Diaz and has been withdrawn from a rematch The Crumlin Boxing Club, where he first laced gloves as a novice, remember a youngster never afraid to make shocking decisions. Phil Sutcliffe, the first man to teach a 12-year-old McGregor to punch, still hasnt digested the news that his pupil chose to immerse himself in the dirty secret of MMA.Some kids had more talent than Conor but didnt work as hard, Sutcliffe told us. He was like any other novice who we taught the basics to - hands up, chin down, elbows in. When he got good enough he was able to drop his hands because he could read the punches. When he got good enough, he took his shoes off and learned to grapple - a seemingly bizarre abandonment not dissimilar to his UFC retirement. McGregor also had a negative reaction to his first loss, explained Owen Roddy (right) I remember the first day meeting him, said Straight Blast MMA gyms Owen Roddy. I remember the confidence Conor had. He was immediately the best boxer we had. You could take him down and submit him but he was never fazed. He knew he could knock you out. But it wasnt plain sailing, even in those days, after a bad reaction to his first pro MMA defeat in his third fight.He went missing for a while, Roddy told Sky Sports. It was in Crumlin and there was a lot of support for him. He gave up training for nearly a year. Eight years ago, the broke McGregor was coaxed back - but will a sweaty gym be as attractive this time?A second loss in his sixth fight triggered a different reaction. From then on, he was open to every aspect of the game, Roddy said. Anywhere he felt lacking, he focused all his time there. Instead of shying away he threw himself in at the deep end. Like the Crumlin Boxing Clubs trainer, head coach Kavanagh emphasises McGregors normality: He isnt talented or gifted. Nobody is born knowing how to play the guitar. He isnt talented or gifted. Nobody is born knowing how to play the guitar. McGregors coach John Kavanagh He had a modest 4-2 record in 2010 but, in two years, reeled off eight consecutive finishes while his larger-than-life personality came to the fore. One of those victims, Dave Hill, told Sky Sports: I thought it was all an act, all for show. He was kicking off at the weigh-ins. But when he got in my face, because of his intensity, I thought he really believes in himself. That flustered me.Yet the Rolls-Royce that he currently drives was still a pipe dream. Thousands of miles from the riches of the UFC, McGregor was still collecting benefits until April 2013 when he got his call-up. Coach Kavanagh told us: It was my first time as a coach at that level so it was new to all of us. Before he knocked out Marcus Brimage, he walked over to me and said this feels no different to the gym. The $60,000 bonus after his 67-second KO was celebrated wildly yet three years later would be loose change in the back pocket of his newest suit. McGregor (left) knocked out Diego Brandao in Dublin It took a year to shoot from the undercard to the main-event in Dublin against Diego Brandao. McGregors evolution incorporated a snarling gorilla tattooed onto his chest and his reputation was just as fearsome. Brandao fell inside one round but McGregors quotes to Sky Sports hinted at a man keen on sporting legacy rather than financial gain.The more I look into my family history and the McGregor name, it was bred on battle, he said. It makes me realise that this chose me, I wasnt meant to do anything else. Im going to change the way martial arts is viewed. Im going to change the game. Im going to change the way people approach fighting. Success is never final, Ill just keep on going. McGregor (left) beat Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas As the paydays grew, did his attitude change? A Las Vegas debut against Dustin Poirier was his toughest test so far but the defeated American later told us: Ive had 19 fights and Ive never been put out like that, Conor is definitely the real deal. McGregor, reflecting on that knockout, revealed his incentive.He told Sky Sports: When Dustin fell I thought of the money. I have a good 20 seconds of thinking about a nice, fat cheque before I think about the next one. I didnt celebrate because its a done deal. Its over and done with in my mind, I know whats going to happen, and I consistently tell people exactly how it will happen. Then I go out and execute it. I celebrate as soon as the contract is signed. Eighteen months and multiple contracts down the line, is his retirement talk really a surprise?Before his world title challenge, the UFC insisted he travel to Brazil to sit at ringside for Jose Aldos defence against Chad Mendes. Far from a jolly on the Copacabana, McGregor outlined to Sky Sports the purpose of the journey. Everything I do is big, big business. The option was there to go on [UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertittas] private jet but in my mind, I only want to travel on my own private jet. Conor McGregor in 2014 This is business and pleasure. Im going to enjoy it because I dont have to compete but everything I do is big, big business. The option was there to go on [UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertittas] private jet but in my mind, I only want to travel on my own private jet.Now the featherweight champion and beneficiary of the sports largest ever purse for a fight, jetting about on McGregor Airways is realistic. Those who call him a friend insist he still preaches the same virtues, albeit from behind the darkened window of a £300,000 Roller. Aisling Daly, a UFC fighter who shares his gym, told us: Hes still the same guy that I knew when we were teenagers but he has fancier shoes and nicer cars. Everything else about him is the same. Sometimes Conor will turn up for training in a five-piece suit but, on a normal day, hes rolled out of bed and arrived in a beanie hat and a tracksuit.If this wild ride is over, it will end with some unfulfilled prophecies - he once told Sky Sports a sold-out Croke Park fight was a done deal, its one contract signature away. Outside of the cage those contract signatures have become McGregors expertise but, if he returns, his next fight will be around the negotiating table. McGregor & Rousey: What now? UFC star duo must react to defeat McGregor has the finances to walk away - but will he? Also See: McGregor & Rousey: What now? 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They are back to a game above .500 on the year and back to .500 on the road. It was their 10th extra time game of the year, and only the second one that did not got to a shootout. Jake Guentzel Jersey . -- Canadian womens amateur golf champion Brooke Henderson is a little less starstruck as she prepares for her second career appearance at an LPGA Tour major event.SOCHI — Hayley Wickenheiser not only will carry the Canadian flag in the opening ceremonies on Friday, the hockey legend also carries high hopes for a fourth-consecutive Olympic gold medal and for the womens game as a whole. But before her work on the ice begins, shes going to savour a special moment at Sochis Fisht Olympic stadium on Friday. "Just going to enjoy it and take it all in and, you know, honour the fact that I have this opportunity and that my family is going to be in the building," said Wickenheiser, who hails from Shaunavon, Sask. "So its going to be a fun night, said the Olympic veteran," who will have 11 family members in Sochi. The 35-year-old Wickenheiser is well aware that if the womens tournament evolves as presumed with a Canada-United States gold-medal final on Feb. 20, the scrutiny will continue as to whether womens hockey belongs in the Olympics. But shes been around the international game for two decades, when she cracked the Canadian roster as a 15 year old in 1994, and she sees progress. Womens game in good shape “I always worry about the future of womens hockey, mainly because of the fact that most of the world pays attention to womens hockey only for two weeks out of every four years,” Wickenheiser said. “I dont worry about the womens game when I look at every game and what goes on internationally. “I look at Team Japan and what [current coach and former Canadian player] Carla MacLeod has been able to do to get that team to an Olympic Games, which is a huge accomplishment for a country. You look at Finland and how they centralize their under-18 and national teams. You look at Sweden and you look at Russia what Alexei Yashin [the teams general manager] has been able to do with his team.” Still, the Russians, Swedes, Finns and Swiss need to exhibit that they have closed the gap. But that wont be easy because Canada and the U.S. continue to elevate its level of play. “This is a dilemma womens hockey is always going to face. But the reality is were so much further aahead in this time span than say where mens hockey was in [after the first five Olympics].dddddddddddd I think the [womens] game has really come a long way in five Olympics.” Will this be Wickenheisers final Olympics? She wont decide on whether to continue or conclude her decorated career, that includes three Olympic gold medals, seven world championships and playing pro mens hockey in Finland and Sweden, until after the final buzzer sounds in Sochi. So what keeps Wickenheisers competitive clock ticking? “The No. 1 thing is a love of sport,” said the six-time Olympian said, who also competed for Canada in softball at the 2000 Sydney Games. “Ive loved hockey since the day I first put on skates when I was five years old. I have had a passion to play all these years. “I love being part of Team Canada and having the opportunity to win, and thats the main driving force now.” Nagano loss still hurts She forgot to mention that shes never been a good loser. At a team gathering on Monday evening, Wickenheiser and Hefford and assistant coach Daniel Goyette described the emptiness and hurt they felt when they finished second in 1998. “The worst thing in the world is to stand on the blue line with a silver medal around your neck,” she said. “It stays with you for a while.” There was some speculation that Wickenheiser wouldnt be around for the Sochi Games. There was some thought her game had dropped off and she was dealing with some injuries. “You battle injuries and you go through a lot of things as an athlete, but I could picture in my mind what I needed to do to get ready to play in these Games,” she said. “I guess its always a fragile existence as an athlete. Any day something can happen and your games are over, like we saw yesterday with the snowboarder (Norway slopestyle gold-medal contender Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone during a trail run). “Im very grateful to be sitting here … and to have had the longevity Ive had.” (With files from CBC Saskatchewan) ' ' '