“When you signed up to fight with me, it was a celebration. You go home and call your wife, you call your wife.’Baby, we did it. We are rich, baby, Connor McGray Ge makes us rich. Break the red panties!'”
This is what Conor McGregor said in 2015 when he competed with Chad Mendes (Chad Mendes) for the provisional UFC lightweight title for the first time pay-per-view. What he said Will prove to be prophetic; the Irishman continues to break box office records, not only the biggest attraction in the UFC, but also the biggest attraction in all fighting sports.
It’s not even close.
McGregor-Porrier 3: UFC 264 date, time, odds, PPV price, card and location
Six years after McGregor introduced “Night of the Red Underpants” to the world, he played a rubber game with Dustin Boyle at the crossroads. He started his UFC career with a weight of 145 pounds, with a 7-0 record and six knockouts-including then champion Jose Aldo’s amazing 13-second knockout-but since then he has been in an octagonal cage. The performance is different.
When he raised his weight to 170 pounds to face Nate Diaz, who submitted him in the second round, he bit more than he could chew. Of course, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez (Eddie Alvarez) to win the lightweight title in 2016, he did become the first boxer to win the world championship in two weight classes. And he somehow succeeded in defeating Floyd Mayweather (Floyd Mayweather), becoming the second largest pay-per-view viewing in history.
But in the past five years, he has only achieved a 3-3 score in the UFC, and a series of legal issues have almost eclipsed his ability. He was still a huge draw, but after being eliminated in January, he had a lot of problems.
If he finds himself defeated in this trilogy battle, then one must question whether the McGregor era has come to an end.
But regardless of the outcome in Las Vegas on Saturday, McGregor’s legacy is firmly established. He is a game changer, and the fighters admit that they borrowed heavily from his script. Whether it’s trash talking or trying to sell yourself outside the UFC, every mixed martial artist wants what McGregor has. Even if they didn’t fight McGregor, the same game with the Irish would have a residual effect unlike anything they had ever experienced. The energy is unparalleled, and the exposure rate is unparalleled.
“I told myself that I had to do this. Watching that game was the pinnacle of my life,” said middleweight Dricus Du Plessis, who played in the McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone game as a fan last January With “Mysterious Mike.” “Now I’m participating in the preliminaries.”
If you have never had a chance to compete in Connor McGregor, then this is different from what you have seen in mixed martial arts. This is not just a battle; this is an event that attracts people’s attention. A McGregor game found that the media rarely (if any) reported the sport and requested an interview. You don’t need to have a brief interest in MMA to realize that Connor McGregor’s battle is a big deal. This is why so many fighters either want to fight him or appear in his headlines.
“I think the eyes he brings are different things,” said Gilbert Burns, who will face Stephen Thompson in the UFC 264 United Main Event. “Most people and I know Connor is a big star. We know that there will be a lot of people paying attention to this card, and I will participate in the United Main Event.”
Think about it: McGregor has been the main event for 7 of the 10 best-selling UFC pay-per-view shows of all time. If you count boxing, only two names remain in the top 10 of PPV: Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor. His value to the company is undeniable, so much so that even potential competitors hope McGregor can beat Boyle.
“I hope he wins because no matter when he wins, it is good for the sport,” said Ilya Topria, who will face Ryan Hall in the UFC 264 preliminaries. “This is good for me and all UFC competitors. I hope he wins.”
There is nothing wrong with Topuria’s evaluation. As long as McGregor continues to win, UFC will continue to be the center of attention. It is true that the former two-level world champion eventually put MMA promotion under his shadow and became a company himself. Some people think that his antics outside the octagonal cage played an important role in his recent outing. But no one is willing to untie their wagon from McGregor’s train.
Like Mike Tyson before him, volatility is part of the charm. When he did not throw a car through the bus window or defend against allegations of sexual assault, he and his competitors started a war of words about donating to charities or making huge profits from his whiskey sales.
He is a viral moment of walking and can take action at any given time. These things may eventually catch up with him and become his downfall, but until then, everyone just enjoys the journey.
UFC may realize that McGregor’s era may be coming to an end, and it needs a new star to blend the octagonal capabilities with the personality outside the octagon. Many people have tried, but few have combined the talents of skill, strength and eloquence.
Fighters like 26-year-old Sean O’Malley have turned a few pages from McGregor’s script and have seen their stock rise. O’Malley can be said to be the closest thing the UFC has to a crossover star. He is young, noisy, and weird, and every fighter wants a piece of “The Suga Show”.
When he opens the UFC 264 PPV card against Kris Moutinho, he will be in the best position to increase the stock. Although there is no ranking, he has accumulated more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram, relying on his viral knockdown, unique personality and enough volatility to attract viewers, good or bad.
“I’ve seen every interview [McGregor has] All the battles with him have been completed many times,” O’Malley told Sports News. “A lot of people try to say that I try to be like Connor, but you can have two people with similar personalities. I must have learned some bits and pieces from it, which is a wise thing. He gave me a lot of inspiration. “
Whether you believe that McGregor is on the shortlist of great pound-to-pound fighters, or that he is the beneficiary of stars who have adjusted correctly to his advantage, the fact remains that he has left his own in the sport. Imprint. Often imitated but never copied, the legacy of Mystic Mac has remained unchanged. The only question remaining is: Can he regain his former glory in the Octagon, or have we already seen the best of Connor McGregor?