The Ultimate Fighting Championship, or the UFC, is currently one of the world’s fastest growing sports in the world. This recent rise in success is due in part of featherweight champion Conor McGregor. The Irishman’s ability to “talk the talk” at press conferences and “walk the walk” at his fights are the reasons why the UFC company has emerged as such a successful sport. In McGregor’s next fight at UFC 205, he will be competing against lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. The two fighters recently shared a few words with each other at the UFC 205 press conference. The words that were exchanged during this event demonstrate McGregor’s skills of communication to build his identity by dismantling his opponents. Communication involves constructing
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Three of these threats can be seen in lines 7-9. The first threat, McGregor tells Alvarez that he is going to knock him out in the first round. Not only does the first face threat from McGregor diminish Alvarez’s identity, but it also validates his own fighting abilities. The second face threat is a direct insult on Alvarez’s intelligence. McGregor criticizes Alvarez for signing a contract that did not involve “new money”. Since he is the biggest name in the sport, McGregor is suggesting that Alvarez was foolish for not negotiating more money on to his contract. He even goes on to imitate Alvarez at his contract signing by physically making a writing gesture and lowering his voice to a comical tone, displaying his disrespect for Alvarez. McGregor’s confidence shines through- his voice overpowers Alvarez which impacts him in a negative way. The third face threat McGregor points out that everyone near him is dressed like him, tries to talk like him, and ultimately wants to be him. In this way, he diminishes the identity of all fighters in the UFC including Alvarez, whom he directs this insult towards. As a result, McGregor was able to generate an identity that indicates he is not only a better fighter than Alvarez, but is smarter than him too. McGregor’s ability to communicate these face threats allows him to dwindle Alvarez’s
Three of these threats can be seen in lines 7-9. The first threat, McGregor tells Alvarez that he is going to knock him out in the first round. Not only does the first face threat from McGregor diminish Alvarez’s identity, but it also validates his own fighting abilities. The second face threat is a direct insult on Alvarez’s intelligence. McGregor criticizes Alvarez for signing a contract that did not involve “new money”. Since he is the biggest name in the sport, McGregor is suggesting that Alvarez was foolish for not negotiating more money on to his contract. He even goes on to imitate Alvarez at his contract signing by physically making a writing gesture and lowering his voice to a comical tone, displaying his disrespect for Alvarez. McGregor’s confidence shines through- his voice overpowers Alvarez which impacts him in a negative way. The third face threat McGregor points out that everyone near him is dressed like him, tries to talk like him, and ultimately wants to be him. In this way, he diminishes the identity of all fighters in the UFC including Alvarez, whom he directs this insult towards. As a result, McGregor was able to generate an identity that indicates he is not only a better fighter than Alvarez, but is smarter than him too. McGregor’s ability to communicate these face threats allows him to dwindle Alvarez’s