For more from the 2016 Body Issue, check out espn.com/bodyissue! And pick up a copy on newsstands starting July 8.Retiring early? Not so much. MMA fighter Conor McGregor is definitely still swinging. On the set of his Body Issue photo shoot in May, McGregor sat down with Kenny Mayne and talked about getting into the ring with Floyd Mayweather, fighting hungry and his strong Irish genes.I dreamt every day of making it as a fighter, every damn day. Sitting on in the car park, on my lunch break, early mornings. I always visualized climbing the ladder of the fight game and reaching the pinnacle.My unpredictability is what separates me. I move in many ways. If you move in so many ways, your opponent is not focused on what hes doing. Hes focusing on what youre doing and it freezes him. When they freeze and you hit, they shatter like glass.Verbal warfare is another form of warfare, so I look to engage in that 100 percent. Its just part of the game. Its part of the business. You beat him verbally, you beat him mentally and then finally you beat him physically. Thats the three ways to beat a man.If I only had to focus on boxing, hell, Id be neck and neck with Floyd right now. Im in the game of spinning plates. Im spinning a boxing plate. Im spinning a taekwondo plate. Im spinning a jiujitsu plate. Im spinning a freestyle wrestling plate. Im spinning a karate plate. There are so many spinning plates in this game. If I was to put all of them down and have one boxing plate spinning, it would be like a load off my shoulders.Many people who practice in only one discipline of fighting are lying to themselves. You cant fight fully. Its limited. Its not the full circle. Youre afraid of everything else. Youre just doing this one single thing. But we practice in everything.I am forever, forever learning. I think in the last fight [against Nate Diaz in March], I mismanaged my weight. I was working with my nutritionist for the lightweight title fight to make 155 pounds. I was on track. Nine days out from the fight, Im in phenomenal condition, and then the weight got changed [to 170] and all of a sudden Im 10 pounds below and Im like, I dont need this diet because I need to eat up to the weight. So I threw that out. I disengaged from that. I started eating two steaks a day, two breakfasts. Id have a coffee and some cookies with that, please, also. Id be in the gym six to eight hours on fight week. Ive got bags of energy. I can do this all day. But it came back and bit me in the ass. My body went into shock. I overtrained and then mismanaged the weight, and it came back to bite me on the ass.When Im cutting weight, I kind of baby myself to preserve energy to make the weight and to be energetic in the fight. But this fight I didnt even have to make weight. In fact, I was stuffing my face. I was heavier around the midsection. I wasnt as lean as I usually am, so my performance was hindered. My gas tank gave in. I had to take a very honest look at what I was doing with my preparation, so I have done that. Ive brought in people specifically to monitor my cardiovascular. Im doing something a little bit differently. So everything is a lesson and everything is a blessing.I entered that last fight full. I was full in every sense. My plate was full, my belly was full. Thats not why we fight. We originally fight for food, to eat. We fight hungry. The birth of fighting is to eat. So Im happy with the lessons learned. I feel like my gut has been emptied again, like I am hungry again.There aint many people going up 25 pounds to fight on the drop of a hat, in nine days. I rocked up to 170 [for the Diaz fight in March]. Never fought at 170 in my life. I rocked up no problem. I slapped the head off of him for nine minutes of that fight. Look at his face. I busted him up. With the correct tank, the correct approach, Im going to cakewalk this next one if we can get to that point.When the tank goes, its done. When you go past that line, no amount of skill can save you. There is no coming back from it in a fight.I have a sweet tooth. But my nutrition is another thing that Ive become obsessed with lately. Right now Im following a strict nutrition plan, and I eat on the clock. My body is feeling good. Its not depleting me, because again, if I get the fight Im looking for, it will still be up a weight. Its still the challenge Im seeking.It was quiet during the struggle. Everything else is noise. I find that the struggle is peaceful and beautifully quiet. Whereas everyone wants to be involved in success, very, very few want to be involved in the struggle. So Im enjoying the quiet and the peace in the struggle right now.This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. And Im cool with that.You grow up where Im from, you must learn how to defend yourself as a young man. I was no different. I got into it to learn how to fight, and thats why I walked into my first combat gym.Im just a kid that defied the odds. Im just a kid that ignored the doubt. Im just a kid from a little place in Dublin, Ireland, that went all the way, and Im going to continue to go all the way.The left paw has done me well over the years. Im not a scientist, Im a martial artist. I did do one of those sport science things where they measured the time and my reaction. But all of that really means nothing in there. I think timing is the key -- surprise and timing. If you can master those two, you dont necessarily need brute force to put a man down. You place the correct shot at the correct time, you will put a man down.Right now, Im focusing on my skills, because the skills is what pays the bills. Im also focused on my cardiovascular training. But you know, ask me tomorrow and it will be something else Ill become obsessed with. Im just looking to learn, grow, stay focused and become a better fighter and a better athlete.I tell you what, them Irish genes are good. Theyve served me well. We are made tough. We are made of steel. So I have no doubt the blood in my genes, the Irish blood in me has definitely stood me. My familys lineage, we are warriors. The McGregor clan, we are warriors all through. We are famous all through the world for our fighting capabilities of all generations. So I have no doubt thats stood to me and that led me down this path and gave me what I have. Cheap Twins Jerseys Authentic . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. 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Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. SAN FRANCISCO -- Yoenis Cespedes hit two long home runs and an RBI double in his second game back from the disabled list, and Bartolo Colon and the New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 9-5 on Saturday.The Mets had lost five of six before topping the team that began the day leading the NL West. The Giants dropped to 11-22 since the All-Star break.Cespedes, whod been out since Aug. 4 with a strained right quadriceps, drove in three runs. He has 24 homers this season. The sluggers shot off Matt Moore (7-10) in the third inning went 457 feet, according to Statcast.com. Cespedes added a 418-footer off reliever Jake Peavy in the seventh.Alejandro De Aza hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth that stretched the Mets lead to 7-2.Colon (11-7) allowed two runs, scattering nine hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings.WHITE SOX 6, ATHLETICS 2CHICAGO -- Chris Sale pitched eight scoreless innings for his first victory in 49 days, Jose Abreu homered and Chicago beat Oakland.Sale (15-6) was the majors first 14-game winner and the AL starter in the All-Star Game, but the lefty had gone 0-4 in six starts, interrupted by a five-day suspension for slicing up throwback uniforms he didnt want to wear. Sale allowed three hits and retired the last seven batters, five by strikeout, while throwing a season-high 120 pitches.The White Sox scored four runs with two outs, including Abreus solo shot that just cleared the eight-foot wall in right in the first inning. Melky Cabrera added an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the fourth off Ross Detwiler (1-2). Oaklands Danny Valencia homered in Oaklands two-run ninth off Nate Jones before David Robertson earned his 31st save.ASTROS 12, ORIOLES 2BALTIMORE -- Jason Castro homered and drove in four runs in Houstons second straight blowout victory over struggling Baltimore.Alex Bregman and George Springer also homered for the Astros. They beat Baltimore 15-8 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.Bregman got this rout started with a two-run homer in the first inning off Chris Tillman (15-5). Houston increased its lead to 6-0 in the third and went up 10-1 in the sixth.Chris Davis homered in a fourth straight game and Steve Pearce also went deep for the Orioles. But Baltimore has dropped eight of 12 overall to fall into the third place in the AL East.Baltimore pitchers combined to allow a season-high 10 walks. Utility infielder Ryan Flaherty worked the ninth inning, giving up two runs and three hits.Mike Fiers (9-6) had little trouble in his first career appearance against the Orioles. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits.MARLINS 3, PIRATES 1PITTSBURGH -- Xavier Scruggs hit his first major league home run and David Phelps pitched six scoreless innings to help Miami beat Pittsburgh.Miguel Rojas scored on an error in the third, and Ichiro Suzuki doubled down the right field line in the fourth -- for his 3,008th hit in the majors to move into 28th place on the career list -- ahead of Scruggs shot into the bleachers in left field.Phelps (7-6) allowed two hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in his fourth start of the season. Fernando Rodney got the last three outs for his sixth save with the Marlins and 23rd save overall.Chad Kuhl (3-1) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings.ROYALS 10, TWINS 0KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Gordon homered twice and had a double, Ian Kennedy pitched eight sharp innings and Kansas City beat Minnesota to extend its winning streak to seven games.The Royals string is theiir best since they won seven straight in April 2015.dddddddddddd The World Series champions have won 12 of 14 to move back into the AL wild-card race.Gordon has homered five times in five games. He connected in the fourth inning and again in the fifth for his fourth career multihomer game.Kennedy (8-9) gave up four hits, walked none and struck out six. Salvador Perez and Gordon hit back-to-back home runs in a four-run fifth, chasing Hector Santiago (10-8).PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 2PHILADELPHIA -- Cesar Hernandez homered, doubled and singled, and Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings in Philadelphias 4-2 victory over St. Louis.Maikel Franco had two hits, including a double and the winning RBI, and Aaron Altherr homered for the Phillies. They have hit home runs in 14 straight games.Jeremy Hazelbaker homered and Jhonny Peralta had three hits for St. Louis, which had won five in a row. The Cardinals are 1 1/2 games head of Miami for the second wild-card spot in the National League.St. Louis fell short of setting a major league record of 10 straight games with multiple home runs. The Cardinals tied the mark with a pair of homers Friday night.Hellickson (10-7) skipped his last start because of back tightness. The right-hander looked healthy and sharp, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. Jeanmar Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save in 37 opportunities. Luke Weaver (0-1) was the loser.NATIONALS 11, BRAVES 9ATLANTA -- Ryan Zimmerman homered and had three hits in his return from the disabled list, and Washington used an eight-run fourth inning to take control before holding off Atlanta.Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner hit homers in Washingtons big fourth inning against Tyrell Jenkins (2-4). The Nationals trailed 3-1 before setting a season high for runs in an inning and taking a 9-3 lead.Washington set a Nationals record with nine hits in the inning, including eight straight, and had 17 hits in the game.Max Scherzer (13-7) allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Mark Melancon gave up a two-run single to Chase dArnaud, cutting the lead to two, before recording the final out for his 36th save.BLUE JAYS 6, INDIANS 5CLEVELAND -- Edwin Encarnacion homered, Roberto Osuna bounced back from a nightmarish outing to record the save and Toronto beat Cleveland.Toronto was stunned Friday night on Tyler Naquins game-ending inside-the-park home run off Osuna that gave the Indians a 3-2 victory.The latest matchup between division leaders also had plenty of drama, with Osuna getting his 28th save by retiring Naquin on a groundout to end it.Encarnacions leadoff homer in the fifth, his 35th of the season, put Toronto back on top. Joe Biagini (4-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (11-7) allowed all six Toronto runs.RAYS 8, RANGERS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Evan Longoria and Luke Maile homered, Jake Odorizzi won his fifth game since the All-Star break and Tampa Bay ended Texas four-game winning streak.Odorizzi (8-5) is 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus had two hits each for the AL West-leading Rangers.The Rays scored in each of the first two innings off starter A.J. Griffin (5-3). Matt Duffy drove in a run with a two-out single in the first, and Maile made it 2-0 with his first career home run in the second. Longorias 28th homer made it 3-0 in the sixth. ' ' '