Conor McGregor: I love Jiu-Jitsu

Pan American BJJ champion Dillon Danis is helping UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor prepare for his title challenge vs. lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205. Danis is also preparing for a pro grappling match against Chackmat’s Jackson Sousa at Polaris 4 on October 29.

In an exclusive interview with Polaris, McGregor talked about Danis and Jiu-Jitsu.

This is a different side of the game then he’s used to also,” began McGregor. “We’ve been in here and we’ve been fighting. We haven’t been slacking off on him – we’ve been putting him into uncomfortable situations as well.

“A lot of the times, when fighter comes from a grappling base, not many of them at all adjust to a full fight, a free fight. I just think that’s because the preparation is a little more twitching and flow 95% of the time, which is great. But you start adding blows into the equation, you start adding elbows, knees … all of a sudden everything changes in a game.

“So we’ve been putting him in these uncomfortable situations. He’s only young, only 22, 23, but he is a big boy. The boy is an animal. When the boy switches it on, he switches it on.

“So if he wants to get into MMA, I’m more than happy to guide him in that path. I’ve helped many before him, and I’ll help many after him – climb them ranks and school them on what it takes in this business.

“He’s just enjoying himself right now, and that’s a dangerous fighter right there – no stress, no worries. All he’s gotta do is worry about his rest and his next training session.”

The grappling community is trying to say I can’t grapple. But that’s not just the grappling community. The boxing community say I can’t box. The kickboxing community say I can’t kick. The wrestling community say I can’t wrestle.

“To all of them I say let’s fight. ‘Oh no, no no well only under this specific ruleset’. Well there you go – I don’t need rules. So that’s my answer to that.

I truly love Jiu-Jitsu. … My coach John Kavanagh has put so much time into my grappling. And into everyone’s grappling around the gym. So when they say what they say, I don’t like it. I feel like I do have something to prove, to my coaches. I would like to get some wins in jiu-jitsu tournaments.

“And number one is to have fun. They’re a hell of a lot of fun. I’ve done a few now. I’ve done the Europeans – gi, no-gi. All these rules sets – it screwed me the last time.

“I got a guy’s back. He scrambled and stood to his feet. I was still on his back but we went out of bounds. And it was like reset. And we reset and just jumps into Closed Guard. And I was like ‘I had his back.’ These are things I didn’t understand about the rules.

“Whatever, they are a hell of a lot of fun. You meet great people. The big crowds. I’d love to do it. Maybe somewhere in the future I’ll complete.

“Right now, I’ve got a hell of a lot on my plate. Second world title in the UFC. We’re preparing for that.”

Polaris 4 is a professional jiu-jitsu event that takes place on October 29th in the UK, for information on live tickets, pay per view, and the prelim card free stream, please visit polaris-pro.org