Title fight will have to do without the drama
Four days after UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov followed up his emphatic win over Conor McGregor by leaping from the octagon to attack one of McGregor’s friends, the postfight brawl still dominates the mainstream conversation about mixed martial arts.
The talking points UFC executives have spouted since then have condemned the extracurricular violence. Nurmagomedov’s stage dive endangered paying customers who had no part in the rivalry between him and Team McGregor.
But early sales stats indicate Saturday’s event will sell more than 2 million pay per views, giving fighters like Max Holloway, in town to promote his Dec. 8 title defence at Scotiabank Arena against Brian Ortega, reason to think misbehaviour boosts business. Holloway and the undefeated Ortega are as respectful as McGregor is arrogant, and share a respect that runs as deep as the antipathy McGregor gins up towards opponents. But the 26-year-old featherweight champion wonders if his return to Toronto could profit from animosity.
“People want to see drama. If there ain’t no drama, then whatever,” said Holloway, 19-3 as a pro. “Ortega’s a good guy. I’m a good guy. I’m almost thinking I need to be a bad guy. I’m just playing, but everybody loves the anti-hero.”
McGregor, who capitulated in the fourth round of a grudge match that had brewed for two years, posted on social media that he’s eager for a rematch. But Nurmagomedov will likely face a fine and long suspension for leaving the octagon to pounce on one of McGregor’s cronies.
Nurmagomedov says he shouted Islamophobic slurs at him during the fight.
McGregor was charged with misdemeanour assault in New York City in April after video showed him using a metal dolly to smash windows on a bus that carried a Nurmagomedov and other fighters. Flying glass injured several people.
But outside-the-octagon violence between headliners isn’t an issue between Holloway and Ortega. They met face-to-face for the first time at TSN studios Tuesday, shortly after each arrived for a 36-hour media blitz. They greeted each other cordially and, Ortega says, left with a mutual respect that borders on friendship.
“To see two people who can be in the same room and not fight each other, not have any type of animosity … brings a breath of fresh air to the sport,” Ortega said. “By the end of my career, I’ll know that I’ve been myself. I don’t have to play a character.”
The lack of animus between Holloway and Ortega presents a marketing dilemma, even as the company’s executives continue decrying Saturday night’s unsanctioned violence. UFC senior VP David Shaw pointed out that Nurmagomedov’s attempted drop-kicking of McGregor assistant coach Dillon Danis troubled the UFC because it happened during a fight card, where the organization is ultimately responsible for the safety of spectators.
“Our live competition is the core of our business,” said Shaw, who runs the UFC’s international and content operations. “(The brawl) does kind of fly in the face of what we stand for as a brand. This was an anomaly … we don’t like it. There’s no place for that.”
But footage of McGregor’s first tantrum featured in promotional videos ahead of last Saturday’s fight. At one news conference he poured Nurmagomedov — a Muslim who doesn’t consume alcohol — a shot of whiskey, then badgered him to explain why he wouldn’t drink it.
The antics angered Nurmagomedov, along with McGregor’s critics — but they also created a market for the bout. Shaw says Saturday’s fight could set a UFC pay-per-view sales record.
Holloway and Ortega can’t count on theatrics to sell their bout to casual fight fans, but the UFC hopes a matchup between elite fighters in their prime will motivate aficionados to buy tickets and pay per views. “Max is who he is and I am who I am, and we sell ourselves when we lock ourselves in that octagon,” Ortega said.