Conor McGregor Is An Atheist

Jesus inspired post-fight speeches are a common site in MMA. Most fighters are openly religious, however only a handful are self-admitted atheists. Let's explore a list of some of the biggest stars in MMA that have come out of the closet.

The man who defeated the Mountain from Game of Thrones is also an atheist, who knew? In a recent interview for GQ Magazine McGregor was asked about his religous views:

AC: Are you religious?

CM: I believe in believing. My coach John Kavanagh is a big atheist and he is always trying to persuade people to his way of thinking, and I think what a waste of energy. If people want to believe in this god, or that god, that's fine by me, believe away. But I think we can be our own gods. I believe in myself.

What an answer! Kavanagh's influence echoes in his words. Here is a quote from Kavanagh to give you an idea of the type of person he is:

For the record I’m not interested in political arguments. I’m more of a Carl Sagan type person. We’re all on this pale blue dot for a few short decades trying to find happiness.

Elias Theodorou, who also fought this weekend, is a confirmed atheist as well. In his twitter account he described himself as "Superstitious atheist with the best hair in any room". No arguments there.

CM Punk has also joined the ranks of the self-admitted atheists in the MMA game. Here is his take on fighters thanking God after fights:

I'm a free speech guy. I think anybody can say whatever they want, you know. That being said, if there is a God, and I dont believe there is one as I am an atheist, I think he's got better things to do than worry about what somebody's doing for 15 minutes in a cage. I'd like to see people thank their coaches more than Jesus, you know what I mean? I think their coaches probably helped them win. I just think it's a weird thing to do.

Here is Greg Jackson's take on fighters and their strong beliefs (as portayed in this article):

Whether you’re into Jesus or Mohammed or your belief that you descended from an ancient superior warrior race, to Jackson it’s all arbitrary anyway. Might as well go with a story you like.

Although only a handful it seems the non-believers numbers in MMA are growing.

Some other notable atheists in MMA are Dana White, Joe Rogan, Joe Silva, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett, Dan Hardy, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Mayhem Miller, John Donagher.

If you have someone to add please let me know on twitter @UrPicks or just leave a comment.