Bas Rutten explains what Conor McGregor is like off-camera

Conor McGregor has recently been traveling across the United States. During his travels, he’s popped into a number of notable gyms — including the home base of former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten.

Speaking on Submission Radio recently, Bas Rutten detailed what sounds like a pleasant visit with the international superstar Conor McGregor, and explained how the Irishman comports himself in the rare moments when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“You know, he’s always the same,” Rutten said (transcript via MMA News). “And I said this to other people, Conor’s a different guy when you see him on TV. He knows exactly when to turn it on and how to talk, and it’s so well done. You know, all the speeches he does, it’s all different. Like, I’m very boring. I prepare something that I’m going to say and will say that in 20 interviews. He’s constantly different with everything that he does.

“The fact that he’s here for business and still works out every single day means that he’s busy and he knows what his fighting is. I don’t know what he’s going to choose, I didn’t want to talk about that. I didn’t want to be the guy who was gonna watch him train and to be there, I just came there to say, hey man, great to have you here. He asked about the belts, they were hanging on the wall, and he said ‘my god, that’s the old UFC belts Bas, wow’, and he remembered they put the Dutch flag on it.

“All these things he knew. And then when I read that post [McGregor wrote], I said, wow, that was really nice of him. And not only that, he really went into depth in that. So no, I think he’s a really smart guy. There’s no profanity around him when he’s walking in the gym. He’s a different guy. And I already said it, cause I interviewed him a bunch of times, and he’s just such a good guy. Except when he goes on TV, then he turns it on and he knows exactly how to make that money.”

What do you think of Bas Rutten’s comments on Conor McGregor?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/7/2019.