At the New York City premiere of Doug Liman’s remake of Road House on Tuesday, Conor McGregor shared with The Hollywood Reporter how Meryl Streep‘s negative comments about mixed martial arts made him want to prove himself even more while starring in the film.
While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2017 Golden Globes, Streep said, “Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.” Her remark was met with roaring applause, but her comments hurt athletes in the UFC, including McGregor.
“Fighting is the most beautiful form of art, and you know, it’s a great thing to come into this game, which is also art,” he said. “I was really taken aback because fighting is an art. It’s brutal also, so I can understand. It’s not for somebody to make a mistake; it’s real artistry for those who do what we do, so I came in [to filming Road House] with maybe a little chip on my shoulder and wanting to represent my sport and my art, give my best in this arena.”
In this iteration of Road House, McGregor plays the villainous Knox, who faces off against former UFC champion-turned-bouncer Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) in a battle for the titular bar. While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Gyllenhaal shared that the UFC star “clocked” him in the face “by mistake.”
McGregor confirmed he did in fact hit Gyllenhaal in the face, saying, “Aye, one or two little wallops. What’s a fight between friends, eh? At the lovely Road House.” The Irish athlete added, “But he gave ’em back, too! Jake’s a consummate professional, and he took it well and gave it right back. That’s what you gotta do. Gotta get up and fight right back.”
When asked if he thinks his co-star has what it takes to be a real-life UFC champion, McGregor had nothing but kind words: “For…
Read the full article here
