McGregor’s generous gesture to young Irish fighters ahead of Poirier fight

UFC superstar Conor McGregor has sponsored the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association's National Youth Squad, ahead of their trip to the IMMAF 2021 Youth World Championships.

The IMMAA has announced that McGregor will cover "the full cost of the team's campaign", including their flights, accommodation and registration fees.

McGregor said: "Wishing the Irish squad the very best of luck in their quest at the world championships this year!

"From the fighters to the coaches, I know the future of our fighting nation is in excellent hands! Fight with the pride of the emerald isle, team! We are all with you! Good luck!"

The team's head coach, Andy Ryan, said McGregor's involvement had "come at a time when Irish MMA needed it most".

He said: "This gesture by Conor has come at a time when Irish MMA needed it most. Gyms were among the worst hit by the Covid pandemic and throughout 2020, thousands of young athletes were unable to train on the mats with their teammates and coaches.

"Those who persevered, trained at home, stayed focused and qualified to represent their country are now getting the ultimate thumbs up from their hero and I have no doubt this support will light a fire under the entire squad heading out to take on the rest of the world in Bulgaria.

"On behalf of the athletes, coaches and all the gyms of IMMAA, I wish to extend a huge thanks to Conor for this incredible sponsorship."

The youth squad is set to travel to Sofia, Bulgaria to contest the World Championships next month, with the event taking place between July 30 and August 1.

McGregor, meanwhile, is preparing for his trilogy bout with rival Dustin Poirier, which is set to headline UFC 264.

The pair are currently 1-1, with McGregor beating Poirier at UFC 178 and the Diamond evening the score earlier this year at UFC 257.

Do you think Conor McGregor will win his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier? Comment below

Speaking ahead of their third fight, McGregor told Fox Sports: "All the marbles are on the line. I’m here training very, very hard; I’m about to go for my second session of the day, I’m in great condition already.

"I beat him in the original bout, but I lost in the rematch and now we’ve got trilogy, I’ve got a few little adjustments to make.

"I feel very, very confident. I’m very focused and driven, and I’ll go in there and put on one hell of a performance and get it back on July 10."

Poirier, meanwhile, told Teddy Atlas on his podcast The Fight : "I’m a southpaw so for these calf kicks to work, it has to be against another southpaw.

"I fought Jim Miller a few years ago back in New York at the Barclays Centre and he was the first guy to use them against me, and after that fight, my leg was so damaged, I had a whole new respect for the calf kick, the low leg kick game.

"I’m expecting Conor to do the same now – he felt how crippling those kicks and how painful those kicks are and how much it changes the dynamic of a fight that I think he’s going to try and use them against me now.

"I really do, because that’s what I started doing, I started trying to use them every chance I got after I was hurt with them.

“I’m working on still landing my offence with my low kicks, but now I’m working on defending a lot more than I used to.

"In that fight, if he would have started checking those kicks, or if I would have been getting taken down because I was chasing that leg kick, then I would have called an audible and gone with something else."

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