Conor McGregor can somewhat be blamed for dramatic altering of Ireland’s MMA perceptions, per fellow 2 division Irish MMA champ

Conor McGregor’s rise and fall, to a degree, informed the same movement pattern of how MMA was received in Ireland, according to another two-division MMA titleholder from the Emerald Isle.

Will Fleury will defend his OKMMA heavyweight championship against former champ Martin Buday at Oktagon 81 on December 28th. Fleury looks to have a huge victory here after a big win in late December last year in Prague. That 2024 victory saw Fleury capture the OKMMA light heavyweight title.

As he prepares to fight a former UFC vet and Oktagon MMA heavyweight champion who will be around fifty pounds bigger than him on fight night, Fleury touched upon some of his thoughts in recent years centered on the waning enthusiasm of Irish MMA media. As the two division Oktagon MMA titleholder expounded upon his sentiments on this subject, Fleury said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“There should have been a lot of eyes post-Conor but it nearly feels like a lot of people have turned themselves off to the sport because they’re a little bit sickened by it in a way. That isn’t the sport domestically, we have some really great guys. We have a lot of guys coming up who are like great representatives of the sport and very skilled fighters.”

“I just hope that in the next couple of years something comes along that gives them the platform that they deserve. Because right now you have a lot of regional shows. Say like in the Balkans, you have FN. Obviously around central Europe, Oktagon are a big crowd and they’re doing some incredible things. They’ve given me a great platform but it’s a platform over there.”

“Like I’m not really that big in Ireland now but when I go abroad like when I go to central Europe I get recognized everywhere you know. I go into Dublin, like I can walk around my home city, and like nobody really knows or cares. Like I would hope that some promotion will come in and create that in Ireland or in the UK.”

“Where there can be a domestic audience and guys like who are able to fight in decent size shows and make a few quid from the sport domestically. Where it’s not the only option is PFL or UFC because it’s unsustainable.”

“They’re not going to come here that often. They’re not going to really give guys a window and right now if you’re a fighter in central Europe and you’ve got a bit of talent, you can develop a fan base and make a living from the sport. In Ireland you can’t. So that’s sad and like I hope that that changes soon.”

Further delving into his perceptions on that distaste for MMA that the broader public in Ireland has, Fleury stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Like there’s kind of a, to be honest, there’s a funny attitude towards MMA in Ireland. Where like 10 years ago, if you mentioned you were an MMA fighter, people would be like, “Oh, cool. Fair play to you.” These days I notice like when I’m introduced like people at a party as an MMA fighter or whatever, they’re like, “Oh, oh, cool. Yeah.” Like it’s a little bit like you must be a bit daft.”

“There must be something a bit wrong with you. Like and like they’re not wrong [laughs]. But it’s like, it doesn’t have the goodwill of the average person in Ireland now. Look, you can blame Conor for that to a degree, but I don’t think it’s just that. I think like historically there’s kind of been a snobbery around combat sports here a little bit with boxing that’s the way as well.”

“It’s just a cultural thing and we just need something to come along and change that because as far as I understand it was the same in the Czech Republic 10-15 years ago and it’s definitely changed there now. People are incredibly respectful. The fans are great over there. I love going there to be honest. I love dealing with fans over there. It’s great. They’re fantastic.”

“So like I just feel like with the right representation and I hope like; I can only do so much, you know, I can only be myself in a way [laughs]. But there’s a lot of guys coming up who are decent athletes, decent people doing the right things in life, and hopefully they can at least get a platform to show what they are. I think slowly over time that could change perception.”

“But I like possibly with the way things are these days, maybe you just need someone to come in and invest a bunch of money into promoting guys the right way. Into like creating the narratives around that and spending a bit of money and getting those guys out there in a few more mainstream media things. Because it doesn’t feel like it’s going to change, but it could. It easily could change, you know.”

When Will Fleury was there the night Conor McGregor suffered his first Cage Warriors defeat

There is a certain level of alignment with McGregor beyond the synchronicity of the Irish double champ relatability between the two. But Fleury was also there for when ‘The Notorious’ suffered his first Cage Warriors defeat to Joe Duffy. As the former Bellator MMA and PFL vet touched upon that anecdote, Fleury quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Like it’s funny, but like we’ve both been on the scene a hell of a long time, I suppose. So we’ve both been around each other a good bit. It was incredible to watch what the guy was doing, man. Honestly, like I lived in London when he was really on the come up. So my first fight I ever attended live was Conor [McGregor] fighting Joe Duffy.”

“Then about a year and a half later while I was still in Ireland, there was this thing of like, oh, he’s fighting [Ivan] Buchinger for the title and I watched that fight. I did, I wasn’t at it, but I watched it and I was like, whoa, that was impressive. Like it was an incredible fight. Then he went on and you know, a year and a bit later he was beating [Marcus] Brimage in the UFC and then he went on a tear after.”

“Honestly, man, it was inspiring to watch an Irish guy go and do that. Like there was such an energy around it there. It changed Irish culture in a way. It changed to like we had never had a guy that was saying hey, I’m the best. I’m going to go out there and do this. Irish culture is much more like keep your head down. Be humble.”

“It was really refreshing to see a guy coming out going no, I’m s**t hot. I’m going to smash this guy and you know I’m going to be the champion. I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that. People really bought into it and it was like yeah we’re not the plebs anymore. We’re not the guys who should be keeping our heads down and you can hold your head high.”

“You know being Irish is something you should be really proud of. Like I’m not saying that he brought that, you know, everybody I think was proud to be Irish regardless. But like he definitely brought a different identity to being Irish. I think over time though there started to be a negative side to that.”

“From kind of the [Floyd] Mayweather fight onwards, a lot of people were a little bit less enthused with all of that. I think because it was so culturally significant and because he’s so tied to what happened in MMA over the last few years or, you know, the perception of MMA is so tied to Conor’s career in Ireland, it’s hard to separate the two.”

“If I have any sort of legacy, I suppose it’s going to be like, no, there’s a lot of Irish athletes who are going about their day and trying to be normal people. Trying their best to just live a decent life and go in and be great martial artists. I’m not here to take over the world. I’m not here to be some megalomaniac. I’m not here to become the f***in’ alpha, alpha male. I’m just a guy who loves fighting and I want to go in there. Fight and show that I’m damn good at it.”