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Conor McGregor remains UFC’s biggest superstar after his turbulent 18 months


Is Conor McGregor still UFC’s biggest attraction? (Getty Images)

On the eve of August 26, 2017, Conor McGregor was at the height of his powers. The two-weight UFC champion had achieved superstardom and was hours away from taking on boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.

The fight was a smash hit and Las Vegas’ second biggest gate for a bout. The night would reportedly earn McGregor in the region of £40 million. He would lose the fight, convincingly, but was expected to return to MMA an even richer and influential figure.

Fast forward to April 3, 2018 and McGregor has just been arrested for attacking a bus full of UFC fighters. He threw a metal dolly through the window, injuring several fighters. McGregor would accept a charge of disorderly conduct before booking his grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov for that October.

The next 18 months would arguably be the most turbulent of McGregor’s career.

McGregor would be submitted by his bitter rival Nurmagomedov and then be suspended for six months for his part in the infamous post-fight brawl. He would clash several more times with law enforcement and would plead guilty to assault in October 2019 after striking a man in a pub in Ireland. McGregor would not fight at all for 15 months.

Khabib Nurmagomedov made Conor McGregor tap out at UFC 229 (Getty Images)

A lot has happened to McGregor since his last win in the octagon and as he launched his charm offensive with media and fans alike this week, questions have been asked about whether the UFC still need Conor McGregor?

UFC president Dana White claims 2019 was the biggest year in the promotion’s history. McGregor did not fight or make an appearance at any UFC event last year. A slightly subdued atmosphere has lingered around the build-up, but packed weigh-in this week reminded everyone of McGregor’s pulling power.

‘He’s one of the biggest stars in combat sports history. Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard – he is at that level,’ White said this week.

‘When you’re talking about all these people who have insight into the business, they’re all full of s***.

‘None of them know what they’re talking about. They don’t none anything about this business. None of them, not one of them.

‘We knew what the Conor fight would do. We set the price for tickets and we know what Conor can do.

‘Conor’s coming in here and pulling $10.6 million (£8.1m) gate – the fight is off the charts. As far as ESPN and pay-per-view, everything is as usual.’

White has been hostile to any suggestion McGregor’s popularity or reputation has diminished, but the UFC and broadcasters have made a conscious effort to brand the Irishman’s comeback as his road to redemption.

Questions about allegations of sexual assault have been angrily shot down by White and McGregor’s fans. The UFC’s commitment to McGregor remains intact, despite his troubles. The cloud that might hand over McGregor has not affected his selling power.

Research from Nielsen Sports shows McGregor’s social media stretches beyond the UFC’s and any of his rival fighters. A staggering 35.5 million follow McGregor on Instagram, and he attracts a global, mainstream audience. Cerrone, his opponent on Saturday night and future Hall of Famer, has just 2.7m followers on social media.

Conor McGregor will face Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 (Getty Images)

‘There’s always a buzz when Conor fights,’ retired UFC fighter Brad Pickett told Metro.co.uk. ‘My phone doesn’t stop ringing during a Conor fight week.’

The UFC are projecting their biggest ever year in 2020. If McGregor fights twice this year, the UFC will undoubtedly outstrip the 2019 profits. The UFC pay McGregor more than any of their other fighters. His official $3m (£2.3m) purse against Cerrone was released ahead of fight night, but McGregor himself claims he stands to make $80m (£61.4m).

‘Conor is a massive superstar in this sport. He’s a phenomenon,’ White explained. ‘The kid has been making big money since the day he stepped in. Nothing’s changed.’

For McGregor, he is selling his MMA comeback as a return to sanity. The 31-year-old has openly admitted going off the rails and described his last camp as ‘horrendous’ and blamed his lack of focus for his defeat to Nurmagomedov.

‘Committed inside the gym, always, hard work. But just outside the gym you drift off,’ McGregor said. ‘Others things take precedent. You eat that one thing you shouldn’t and you stay up late when you shouldn’t.

Conor McGregor says he is re-focused after his defeat 15 months ago (Getty Images)

‘And then it leads to the next training session. You’re not as fully prepared as you should be and you don’t enjoy it.

‘Then the cycle continues and you end up picking up an injury. I wasn’t focused on it. That was it. For me, when I went into that Brooklyn arena [to attack the bus], my job was done. He [Nurmagomedov] stayed put behind those women.

‘The [UFC] fight was a secondary thing. I wasn’t committed and I just went in for a fight. I was damaged, not focused and that’s it.’

McGregor’s new-found humble persona could be a well-designed ploy to boost his profile and re-establish himself as a long-term draw. Conscious of the bad press that has followed him around for the last 18 months, McGregor can only return to the silver-tongued trash talker when his integrity as an elite fighter is restored.

The UFC have proven they can continued to grow without McGregor in their ranks, but he remains their greatest asset. McGregor is now hinting a life committed to MMA can keep him on the straight and narrow, so it begs the question, does the UFC need McGregor or does McGregor need the UFC?

‘They both need each other,’ Pickett suggested. ‘The UFC is a massive platform that Conor has helped build, but Conor needs that platform to earn money.

‘Does the UFC need Conor? I don’t think they do as much as they might have once.

‘The UFC is the biggest star out there because they’ve got other stars. 2019 was their biggest year yet.

‘But if they want to earn as much money as they possibly can, then they need Conor.

‘If Conor had fought in 2019 it would have been an even bigger year for them. That’s 100 per cent. He’s a massive asset towards their business. They both need each other to feed each other.’

<strong><em>Metro.co.uk is reporting from Las Vegas in association with Ohmbet – UK’s No.1 MMA Sportsbook. For latest <a href=”https://www.ohmbet.co.uk/ufc-bet” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>MMA odds go here</a>.</em></strong>





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