Champion of Confidence - “Notorious” - Grant Hiskes

Picture From Adam Hunger at USA Today Sports

I have not historically been a fan of the “Notorious” Conor McGregor. I have found him to be an arrogant asshole. But, as seems to be the case just about any time I watch a documentary, I have found my distaste for McGregor largely diminished after watching “Notorious”. McGregor is one of the most beloved athletes across the globe, yet he also comes off extremely cocky and abrasive, traits we seem to tend to dislike. What attracts us to McGregor, among other athletes, is his confidence, a trait critical to success, and also one that does not often harm others (well, outside of fighting at least).

Long before McGregor’s ascent to fame, Dee Devlin saw something in the plumber’s apprentice. As she sits in the driver’s seat across from the man behind the camera, Dee recalls her falling in love with Conor, “If you change the way you think, and you believe every single breath you take, that you are the best, and I was the first person to really hear him speak those words and hear him be so passionate. I always did believe him. Always. And I always will”. 

The confidence that attracted Dee to Conor seems to be right in line with what fans are attracted to in Conor. Whether it be the Conor McGregor “billionaire strut”, or randomly reciting iconic McGregor phrases like “Who da FOOK is  THAT guy” regarding the undefeated world champion Floyd Mayweather, or “I want to take this chance to apologize … TO ABSOLUTELY NOBODY”.

When Dee met Conor, she had no glimpse into the future to see that one day the man she was falling in love with would go on to be a millionaire with the title of world champion, it was a very human attraction, begging the question, what is it that we see in confident individuals that make us so attracted to them? This public attraction transcends the fandom of the outspoken McGregor, we saw it throughout the 1990s with the GOAT Michael Jordan, or today with moguls like Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports.

There is likely no answer to this question that is a universal truth. We may crave the sensation we get when our insecurities are erased when we feel protected by a confident individual. It may be even more beastly and animal-like than that, confidence in others subconsciously dupes into us thinking we have found a good partner for survival, one that will protect and feed us at all costs. Confidence is not necessarily an attractive characteristic for everyone though. We all know that cocky asshole that can’t seem to shut up about himself (or herself). We loathe them. But why do we loathe them, is it jealousy? I do not have an answer for that.

There is no doubt that the virtue of confidence played a critical role in McGregor's success. There are professions where the slightest changes in confidence level do not make a difference in success, however, being a mixed martial artist is definitely a job where confidence is of the essence. The mind game will make you or break you going into an octagon in front of a packed house at MGM Grand with millions more watching at home and going “mano y mano” with a man getting paid to try and sweep you into unconsciousness.

The butterflies never seem to shake McGregor though. After a victory that sets him up for a match against the undefeated José Aldo, considered the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world at the time, McGregor says, “You know what’s next. The world title is next. Tell José I’m coming”, and when he hears that he will have the chance to fight the undefeated champion for his belt he replies, “I’m going to hand him my spit bucket, tell him to bangin’ spit shine that belt”, foreshadowing the victory he would have in that fight where he ends up knocking out Aldo 13 seconds in. In an interview with Declan O’Kelly on muscleandfitness.com, O’Kelly asks McGregor about any pre-fight rituals or habits, to which the fighter replies “Rituals are superstitions and that to me is another word for fear. If you need to do something to get you ready, if you wear a certain pair of pants or you have a favorite gum shield, all these things are different words for fear”.

It’s hard to chalk up all that success to confidence alone. McGregor is a fearless Irishman with a crazy work ethic that has also made him very skilled. Being the first fighter to be champion at two weight classes (145 lbs and 163 lbs) simultaneously requires the perfect combination of those characteristics. However, it’s so difficult to deny that confidence is a key ingredient in the recipe of success, and this applies outside of just the Mixed Martial Arts world or even the sports world. If we never believe in ourselves that we can accomplish our objective, we never will. And as the adage goes, if you never believe in yourself, how is anyone else going to?

So what are the downfalls of confidence? I am not sure there are too many in all honesty. One can argue that overconfidence can lead to a lack of preparation, which could set you up for failure. And that’s probably true. Confidence itself cannot bring you success, but it’s a crucial complement to it. In the greater context of humans, I also don’t see confidence as a problem. While high levels of confidence may portray one as an asshole, it does not mean you are a bad person. McGregor may be a hothead, but his actions don’t lead to mass starvation, an infringement on civil rights, or war. It seems like McGregor’s confidence is really just a way of betting on himself. We saw the same thing in The Last Dance documentary with Michael Jordan. Jordan was constantly setting lofty expectations for himself, even doing it in his opponents’ locker rooms, if not publicly. There is certainly some psychological effect on the opponent, but also an increased effect and pressure on yourself to perform as well, eustress if you will. 

While McGregor appears ruthless leading up to fights and in the octagon, he also tends to show a lot of respect for his opponents afterward, giving them a hug or words of encouragement as seen in the documentary following the fights with Chad Mendes, José Aldo, and Nate Diaz. Confidence does not guarantee we succeed, but without it, we cannot succeed. Humans have a fascinating attraction to confident individuals, and that is not a bad thing. While confidence does not always shine a positive light on an individual, there is nothing inherently wrong with it.