Conor McGregor Talks Drinking, Money and Fights vs. Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khabib

A calm Conor McGregor discussed his past and his future in a wide-ranging interview Monday on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show.

McGregor is set to fight Donald Cerrone on Saturday night in his first match since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, which was his only UFC bout since 2016.

While some casual fans were surprised by his loss with the UFC Lightweight Championship on the line, McGregor explained he was drinking alcohol heavily prior to the fight:

It has now been "three-to-four months" since having a drink leading up to the bout against Cerrone, McGregor says.

"I've made mistakes and I'm man enough to admit them and correct them," he said.

McGregor also addressed concerns over his behavior both inside and outside the Octagon.

The Irish star attacked a bus full of fighters during UFC 223 weekend then was involved in a scuffle in the aftermath of his fight with Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.

Away from the sport, he was arrested and charged with robbery and criminal mischief for smashing a fan's phone, but the charges were later dropped. He was also captured on video punching a person at a bar in Ireland last August. He later pled guilty to charges stemming from the attack.

Most notably, McGregor is the subject of two separate investigations by authorities in his native Ireland over allegations of sexual assault, per the New York Times.

When asked if he could deny the allegations, McGregor told Helwani, "Yes, f--king hell ... come on, seriously? Time, please, that's all. Time will reveal all, time will tell all. And then that's it."

McGregor has done well in his professional career even without a win since defeating Eddie Alvarez in 2016. His 2017 bout against Floyd Mayweather helped make him one of the richest athletes in the world with $99 million earned in 2018, per Forbes.

He plans to be a billionaire within the next four years, and the upcoming fight could play a big role in helping him.

McGregor also plans to expand his boxing career after a hard-fought loss to Mayweather.

He discussed a potential rematch against Floyd as well as nearly signing up for a bout against Manny Pacquiao.

 "I will box again, I will get a boxing world title," McGregor proclaimed.

In the meantime, he will continue his UFC career and hope to re-establish himself as a top competitor in the sport.