SHOW MUST GO ON
LAS VEGAS — When Conor McGregor was last in Sin City for a big fight, his opponent was unbeaten boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. It was McGregor’s first professional fight as a boxer, but some people actually thought the Irishman had a chance to beat Mayweather, who easily ran his record to 50-0 with a 10th-round TKO victory 14 months ago.
It says volumes about McGregor’s ability to sell a fight that more than 4 million purchased the pay-per-view to witness a fight that was easily predictable. Mayweather, a genius with gloves, essentially carried McGregor until he tired. Mayweather made about $200 million for the fight, while McGregor earned just short of $100 million. Cha-ching. McGregor might have seemed the per- fect foil for Mayweather. But actually it was the other way around. The bout would have never happened without McGregor being as popular as he is. It was the “McGregor Show” and it’s ready for a revival.
When last seen in the Octagon, McGregor was lifting two belts over his head after becoming the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously. He had just defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden to add the lightweight belt to his featherweight crown. He took time off to welcome the birth of his first child and then challenged Mayweather to a boxing match.
The idea initially seemed foolish. The best boxers in the world hadn’t threatened Mayweather. What was a mixed martial artist going to do?
McGregor’s supreme confidence and guarantees of victory had people wondering if he could out-box the best boxer on the planet. There has never been a better sales job.
Now he is back to selling Conor McGregor, the MMA fighter, which has far more credibility than the boxer. McGregor ends his 2 ½-year absence from the Octagon on Saturday night when he challenges Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC’s lightweight championship at T-Mobile Arena.
Judging from fan reaction at the workouts on Wednesday and the press conference Thursday, McGregor’s popularity has only grown since the Mayweather fight. He’s easily the best showman in all of sports, taking Mayweather’s “love-me or hate-me, but buy the pay-per-view” approach to another level. His trash-talk continues to be merciless.
“I know a glass jaw when I see one,” he said of Nurmagomedov. “I know he’s afraid of a smack and if you’re afraid of a smack off me, a smack will feel like a double barrel shotgun.”
Asked what he plans to do to Nurmagomedov, McGregor didn’t hesitate: “Stomp on his head as he’s unconscious.”
Truth is, McGregor shouldn’t be here this weekend. In just about any sport, he would be suspended for his dolly-throwing incident before UFC 223 in April at Barclays Center. McGregor hurled a dolly at a bus in which Nurmagomedov was a passenger along with several other MMA fighters who had attended the media day. Damage was done to the bus and several fighters were injured by shattered glass.
One bout on the card had to be canceled because of cuts sustained by one of the fighters. UFC women’s strawweight champ Rose Namajunas, who was also on the bus, told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show last month that she doesn’t leave her house because of lingering trauma from the attack.
Do something like that in the NFL and it’s at least a four-game suspension. There would be suspensions for similar action for anyone in baseball or basketball as well. McGregor should have been sidelined for at least a year. Instead, he got a slap on the wrist, and a multi-fight deal with the UFC, starting with Saturday’s showdown with Nurmagomedov.
McGregor generates too much money, and the UFC has already missed him. A victory over the unbeaten Nurmagomedov will make him the No. 1 fighter in combat sports and give him the ability to dictate his own terms.
His act might be getting a bit stale and he’s starting to talk as much about the products he’s pitching like his Proper No. 12 Irish whiskey than opponents.
But Conor McGregor is still big business and getting bigger.
“I know who the king is,” he said, “and I’m going to show it Saturday night.”