UFC Fight Night 59 is the Conor McGregor show. He knows it, loves it, and embraces it.

The promotion for the event is heavily slanted toward the Irishman. He takes up the vast majority of the commercial and had multiple pieces of televised shoulder programming orientated around his preparation.

Judging from the build-up to the event, it wouldn’t be farfetched to believe Sunday’s FOX Sports 1-televised headliner from Boston’s TD Garden will simply feature McGregor (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the octagon alone.

He does indeed have an opponent, though, and his name is Dennis Siver (22-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC). The German striker has as many UFC bouts as McGregor does professional fights overall, but that doesn’t concern “The Notorious” in the slightest.

“The promos are 99 percent me because the fight is going to be 99 percent me,” McGregor told MMAjunkie. “The only one percent he gets is making his walk. The rest is me. The promos are perfect as they are.”

UFC rarely takes such a one-sided approach to fight promotion. Company CEO Lorenzo Fertitta insinuated Siver would receive more attention as fight-night approached, but thus far those efforts have proven futile.

That’s completely fine with McGregor. Not only because the 26-year-old enjoys the exposure, but also because he strongly believes Siver is unworthy of the attention.

“He’s a veteran of the game, but he deserves no credit,” McGregor said. “When you abuse steroids and look to take masking agents to hide those drugs from the test, you deserve no credit. You deserve to be cut from the promotion. I don’t give a f-ck about Dennis Siver one bit.”

Siver tested positive for hCG following his UFC 168 bout with Manny Gamburyan. He was fined $19,800 and suspended nine months. He returned to the octagon at UFC Fight Night 53 in October and earned a gritty decision win over Charles Rosa.

Although it was Siver’s first drug test-related mishap since his UFC career began in April 2007, all it took was that one mistake to lose McGregor’s respect. While some might look at Sunday’s bout as Siver’s career-changing opportunity, McGregor sees it as punishment for past mistakes.

“Two things will either happen to Dennis on the night: Either I’ll retire him or I will personally have him cut from the promotion myself,” McGregor said. “He doesn’t deserve the opportunity. He got lucky. It’s over for him now. This is it. His career is done.”

McGregor’s goal isn’t just to beat Siver. He said he wants to do it in a devastating, destructive, and humiliating fashion. That’s why he predicted that he’d finish the 36-year-old by knockout inside the first two minutes of round one.

Only one fighter has accomplished such a feat against Siver. Heavy-handed knockout specialist Melvin Guillard put Siver away in 36 seconds at UFC 86 in July 2008. That was a long time ago, though, and the bout took place at lightweight.

Siver is now a featherweight. He’s 3-1 with one no-contest since debuting in the weight class nearly three years ago, but the matchup with McGregor is his first main event and marks by far his most significant career opportunity.

McGregor has pounded his “two minutes or less” prediction into the pavement, but what happens if it doesn’t go according to plan? While countless factors can shift the outcome of a fight, McGregor claims he won’t be flustered if his exact vision doesn’t pan out in reality.

“It wouldn’t be a disappointment (if I don’t win in two minutes),” McGregor said. “I predict it as I see it. I take a look at his movement, his reactions then I feel what way the contest will go. I feel it and feel there’s a certain situation we will find ourselves in. We will end up in that situation in the first two minutes, and I feel he will not be able to come through it.

“If he can come through it, that’s on him. But I am rarely wrong. I am prepared to go wherever this contest needs to go. This is simply something I feel will happen. Of course things can happen inside the octagon, and I am prepared for everything and to go wherever I need to go.”

Despite all his talk and dismissive attitude toward his opponent, UFC Fight Night 59 is the most meaningful bout of McGregor’s career. Siver may not represent his sternest challenge from a competitive standpoint, but the reward that comes with victory is far grander than anything he’s ever encountered.

UFC officials recently confirmed a victory would lead McGregor to an opportunity to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight championship later this year. That’s a stake based on the outcome of one fight, but McGregor said this is the moment he’s prepared all along for.

McGregor predicted that he’d rise into a world title fight and now he’s just one win away. That’s an intense amount of pressure that could cripple most. However, for McGregor, it’s simply another one of his predictions that will soon be reality.

“It’s exactly as planned,” McGregor said. “I have put in the work and I have worked hard, dedicated my life to this craft. It is paying off. It’s a beautiful thing that these opportunities arise.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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