Postal Connections: Conor McGregor vs. the UFC
As I write this, things are still in limbo for Conor McGregor and his appearance at UFC 200 in July. It has been a crazy couple of days, with the promotion announcing it had pulled him after his cryptic tweet and McGregor firing back with his statement. So what do we know now, who’s at fault and how will this play out in the end?
You all had plenty of questions. Away we go.
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I wholeheartedly agree, Jake. He did more to promote his UFC 200 bout with this stunt and the ensuing media/social media s--- storm that followed for the next 36 hours. If you even remotely follow sports, not MMA but mainstream sports, you know what is going on with McGregor.
I was playing hockey yesterday afternoon, and there are a few guys
in our group who follow MMA in a cursory fashion. Before I even sat
down in the locker room, the discussion was on. Everyone had heard
about the “retirement” tweet and wanted to know what was up.
McGregor is a true crossover star because of how hard he worked on
the promotional side. There are a slew of fighters who are much
better than him in the cage, but they don’t have millions of people
on the edge of their seats every time they pick up a microphone. He
has done a brilliant job of putting himself in this position; it’s
time for him to call in that marker and get a break from the extra
travel to prepare for his fight.
McGregor is coming off a loss to Nate Diaz, and another one could tarnish his brand a bit. I fully understand why he is hesitant to jump back on the stage and dance for the masses. This one is for him, and he has earned it.
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The problem is Conor didn’t want to promote. That’s it, plain and simple. If you don’t promote, you don’t fight. -- @KB_NYK
I’m sorry, but I’d vehemently disagree with your assessment. The guy has done more promotion for the UFC, its other fighters, the media outlets that cover the sport, the agencies that represent the fighters and all the other organizations that promote fights than anyone in the history of the sport, save perhaps Ronda Rousey. He has headlined the three biggest earning (gate) United States events, brings half a nation (or so it seems) across the pond when he fights, has become a national and international icon in just about three years time and has propped the UFC’s value at a height it had never seen before.
He’s an anomaly; there is no two ways about it. Every time McGregor opens his mouth, he promotes the UFC, its brand and everyone associated with it, along with himself and his brand. Not showing up for a press tour is forgivable -- I’ll say it now, I bet it’s forgiven -- when you put as many rear ends in seats and as many pay-per-view buys in the UFC’s coffers as he does.
The bigger problem here is the precedent it will set for other fighters, but guess what? There aren’t any other McGregors out there at the moment. However, there are some serious players who are watching this and thinking, “Hey, why don’t I get that special treatment, too?”
That’s what the UFC is worried about -- and rightfully so. Ever since being burned by some fighters in its early days of running the show, the promotion has had a single-minded approach that the brand is bigger than any one fighter. I’m hear to tell you and everyone else that paradigm has shifted, and the UFC is about to find out that being in the McGregor business is going to mean playing second fiddle.
How the UFC controls the rest of the fighters will be interesting, but it seems obvious to me that old “Mystic Mac” isn’t playing by the dusty old rulebook anymore. I guess if you don’t want to do 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, you don’t cut McGregor a hall pass for the press tour. The ball is in Zuffa’s court.
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Can’t wait for “Bad Blood: Dana vs. Conor.” -- @j_mckenna_22
Don’t tease me like that. I would probably stop picking on TJ De Santis for a whole month if I could have a McGregor-Dana White “Bad Blood” special.
For those of you who are new to the sport or just plain oblivious, please look up the Tito Ortiz-Dana White “Bad Blood” special Spike TV did when those two were going to fight back in the day. It was classic s---baggery that ended with Ortiz no-showing at the weigh-ins for the proposed “fight.”
It was an example of the promotion doing everything in its power to submarine one of its stars and paint him as a coward and ingrate. While I’m sure Ortiz placed enough of the tinder in the fire pit, it was clearly the UFC that lit that bonfire ablaze with its “unbiased” look at the relationship between Ortiz and his former manager/friend/promoter.
How about that promotional tour for McGregor-White? It would be amazing. McGregor is a natural on the stick and White is no slouch himself. I would pay big dollars to see those two hurl unfettered barbs at each other. It would be must-see TV. Also, I would bet my firstborn child that McGregor showed up for the weigh-ins, if it ever got that far. It’s not going to happen but a man can dream, can’t he?
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A collective bargaining agreement would fix all of this. -- @hardcoresketchy
Well, that may be a bit of an oversimplification, but I definitely think a CBA for UFC fighters would benefit those who feel they are being forced into more obligations than are warranted or needed while they are training for a fight. It would also allow them to set some guidelines and rules for how and when they are required to promote their fights.
No CBA will ever entirely get rid of the caste system in which fighters currently find themselves. There are always going to be the fighters bringing in the big dollars who are going to get special treatment, and no amount of bargaining or solidarity is ever going to change that. I do agree that fighters who have more than their own self-interest in mind should be looking at ways to organize. It’s on them, though. No one else can do it for them.
This situation, along with the Reebok and United States Anti-Doping Association deals, highlights the fact that the real talent in this sport doesn’t have anyone truly advocating for it.
If it did, we and the fighters most affected by those deals, would have likely had a clearer picture of how said deals would impact them. We would know how much real money they would make on the apparel pact, what kind of recourse or representation they would have when dealing with the USADA or just how much time they would have to allocate to “promotion” when they sign on the dotted line to fight.
Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or Twitter @TheSavageTruth. If you would like to have your question or comment answered in the weekly Postal Connections mailbag, please submit them by Wednesday evening each week.
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