Conor McGregor is struggling right now with an injury, a 1-3 run, calls for his retirement, and criticism over his abhorrent behavior. He is also facing the fact that his run as a contender is likely over even if he continues to draw money.

McGregor thrives on adoration, attention, media coverage, and controversy. Being the centerpiece is always his goal and when he performs best. People say he gets in his opponent’s heads but that’s not it. Conor taps into his unending pool of confidence and sees his opponents as prey and not competition. Not anymore because it looks to fans like he is a caricature of that guy. Fear of losing the spotlight and being irrelevant is hard to shake off.

It’s almost like he doesn’t see himself as a beast anymore or at least the right type of monster. Lately he has just been obnoxious and offensive to rivals and sadly their families. Threatening and insulting Dustin Poirier’s family was terrible enough but he went after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dead father.

Conor may have deleted it but fans will never let anyone forget anything ever. Five years from now trolls will pull this out for something. Thinking about how vile this response was he probably deserves it.

Khabib is also struggling – though fanboys won’t admit it – with being out of the spotlight. He’s often posting how he’s in the GOAT discussion and jumping in on other fighters to get attention. A lot like Henry Cejudo. It’s part of the game. What Conor said shouldn’t be.