Legendary Irish boxer Steve 'The Celtic Warrior' Collins has heaped some lofty praise on his countryman 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor after visiting him at SBG Ireland early in the week, as he claimed that the Dubliner is the "greatest fighter Ireland has produced".In one of the definitive moments in Irish sport, already a WBO middleweight champion, Collins jumped up the weight ranks to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Chris Eubank for his super-middleweight title back in March, 1995. Fightland talked to Collins on the 20th Anniversary of the Eubank fight last year.Knowing that McGregor will look to become the first man to hold belts in two UFC weight classes when he meets lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos on March 5, Collins is adamant that McGregor will be even better at the heavier weight class."I've met Conor a few times, but when I visited him ahead of this fight I was very impressed with his mindset," he explained. "His preparation has obviously gone really well. He looks like a total powerhouse. I'm expecting to see an even better fighter than we saw in his last fight. I really feel like that extra weight is going to be a massive advantage to him."He's definitely the best I've ever seen him since I began to follow his career. I know I haven't been following him from the very early days, but this step up in weight is going to be a huge benefit for him. I'm ready to see a much stronger fighter next time out, and a better fighter."Collins further backed McGregor's decision to venture up to lightweight, insisting that having some extra pounds on his frame will not only increase his strength but his stamina too."When I saw him stripped off for the last fight he was so lean. He had dropped a lot of weight and that was obvious from looking at him. He looked skinny to me, but I know that he's incredibly lean. Seeing him like that, and although he performed amazingly well, I can see the extra few pounds being an advantage."Not only will he be stronger, but he will have more stamina too. I think he's going to need that stamina too because this guy he's facing is a very good grappler. He's going to be trying to wear Conor down and use up his energy. I can see that extra weight helping him if he gets into those kinds of situations."[tweet text="The Fighting Irish, Steve Collins and @TheNotoriousMMA
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