[Valhalla] On the Rise of Conor McGregor and the Warrior-Scholar

The UFC Featherweight division has not know complacency since the influx of Ireland's debut of Conor McGregor, perhaps the best fighter to ever invade North Am

erica in this 21st century. Known for his brash and quarrelsome cockiness, "Notorious" is set to meet Germany's Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 in Boston, the biggest  city of Irish descendancy in America, determined to put on a display of yet another perilous finish.

Killer instinct admixed with an unvarying confidence, the warrior-scholar is determinate proof that one who evolves mentally evolve physically; till this date, with 4 consecutive UFC wins and on a 9 fight win streak in his career, no one has given the Irishman a true challenge. All obstacles presented thus far, namely Diego Brandao and Dustin Poirer, have been decimated in the first round. With those two previous victories, McGregor has not only opened the ears to the public with his arrogance tirade, he has opened the eyes of all Featherweights jousting for position to get a shot at the only UFC Featherweight Champion, Featherweight king and #2 pound for pound mixed martial artist in the world, Jose Aldo.

Literature and music has been known to open the dimensions of the mind, to allow the brain's capacity to roam to thoughts and ideas that have never occured to us in our everyday lives. The mind itself feels no pain so it has nothing to lose in the process of becoming; it is a one-way relationship between learning and devolving. What we see in McGregor is not only such evolution but a painstaking similarity to such fighters as Ruben "Hurricane" Carter in his first bout of incarceration, Muhammad Ali in his conversion to Islam, Joe Louis in his rematch with Max Schmeling, Jersey Joe Walcott in his 5 retirements and 4 title bouts before he finally claimed the heavyweight title. There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a mind whole, a shadow aware of its own, the double of a personality working in tandem with another.

Also, what greater threat an evolved mind accomplishes, is to frightened the lesser evolved mind. Diego Brandao's physical deficit led to his mental break and his subsequent fold to McGregor at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin, Ireland. The physical grind alone of Dustin Poirer, the lassitude invited by it, along with the fury of being labeled  a coward by McGregor, led to his first round decimation at UFC 178. McGregor isn't the only fighter to employ his mind to the fight before the fight is set; Muhammad Ali, before being known as "The Greatest" was labeled the "Louisville Lip" when he was Cassius Clay due to his rants and disgracing his opponents, Floyd "Money" Mayweather himself has the talent to hit his opponents personally, professionally and financially to degrade their mental capacity for the endeavor to overcome another athlete and Mike Tyson's personality alone was a hallmark that stymied his opponents before he could land his destructive powershots. After a lengthy layoff, Joe Frazier was finally able to slow the momentum of Ali, no one has yet to figure out how to deal with "Money" Mayweather, though a meager challenge from Manny Pacquiao is impending on May 2nd; will McGregor be the next fighter to reach a level that cannot be toppled?

A win of Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 will likely take McGregor to the #1 contender slot, making him the 3rd undefeated #1 contender in the UFC in line for a title after the Lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and Women's Bantamweight Cat Zingano. He has climbed the ranks of the best in the world in a matter of 4 fights, predicting, demolishing, putting all on the line as though he has predicted what is to come.