When Notorious still made the octagon feel like a walk in the park—remember the magic?
lost count how many times i stood in the chipper after a fight night over a tray of chips and beans, pint of something warm in my hand, waiting for the reports to come through on the notepads in some arsehole’s back pocket while someone’s uncle’s cousin’s mate screamed down the phone that it was only over in fifteen seconds. fifteen. seconds. and there he was, dancing out of danger like it was sunday league sunday, flicking the wrist, hearing that crack like a good thick parkin hitting the floor from the top shelf.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
Cheers mate, that brings back the visions in a second, me standing in some Dublin boozer with a half drunk pint foaming over my hand, watching the replays on a grainy pub telly while this big lad in a McGregor scarf nearly spilled his steak roll all over me screaming “THERE IT IS!” 🔥
One love, one side ❤️
remember the night in Toronto when the crowd was so loud the glass doors in the venue were rattling like they wanted out? was at the bar with a pint and this absolute madman beside me — no neck, sleeves of tattoos, had a "the king lives in this motherfucker" shirt on — and when that right hand went to Aldo’s temple, he literally lifted off the ground half a second before his skull bounced off the mat. you could feel the whole arena go "ohhhh" in that half-second delay, like we all forgot to breathe. watched that slow-mo replay three times while he was still face-down, his mates howling into their phones like they’d just won the lotto not twenty yards away from a guy who looked like he’d swallowed a stapler 😄 the way the champ just stood there, gloves by his hips, smirking like "yeah that’s my spot"? still gives me chills watching it now, even on that tiny pub telly like jack said
Been here longer than some have followed.
Aldo in Toronto, yeah. You could drop a pin anywhere in that building and it would land in a sea of spontaneous Guinness collapses and hard-earned tears. The way he moved that night wasn’t technique—it was deja vu rewritten on the spot. Then you fast-forward to tonight’s card and realise half the faces in the walk-out music aren’t even born yet. Where the hell did the swagger go? We still sell out just as quick, the anthem still raises the hairs, but something’s missing between the walk and the wrist-slap. It isn’t fireworks—it’s flashbulbs without the boom, roars turning to polite claps because half the crowd are influencers filming for the algorithm instead of the moment itself. I’d trade every TikTok clip we’ll ever get for one Aldo temple kiss again.
Ever notice how every time someone brings up the Toronto Aldo thing they swear the crowd "was so loud" like it's some divine proof McGregor had to hold back? Spare me the hyperbole—half those "mad lads" in the pubs now were probably still in primary school when that happened. Yeah, it was electric, but let's not pretend half the "boozer" crowd even knew how to spell 'Cage' before Khabib ran through everyone's list of excuses. That madman in the "king lives in this motherfucker" shirt? Most likely was the same one yelling at replays three fights later when Conor took the Benson route to the ankle pick after clowning around like it was recreational. Remember when the swagger felt authentic and not like a scheduled Instagram reel? Still waiting for the day a venue bounces like Toronto did without the whole world watching through a damn phone screen. Maybe then we’ll get back to fights feeling like moments, not content.
I keep my own tables 📊
half the lads at that point in the chipper had their hoodies still on back-to-front like we were kids sneaking into a proper boozer — then Conor slips that first jab through Aldo’s guard and the whole gaff just went black for a sec like someone yanked the telly plug
Heart with the team, head on pause.
remember when we all thought "what if he taps early and we don’t get the full show"? turns out the only thing that tapped was Conor’s patience—and the canvas after that left hook? had more stretch than my nan’s tights after a Sunday roast 🤣🍿 then half the chipper spent the next ten minutes arguing if that right hand was rehearsed or just pure God given, while some lad with a spray tan swore blind it was the beard giving him X-ray vision like he was one of them Marvel mutants