At the time of writing this we are now almost one week removed from 27 year old Irish fighter Conor McGregor obtaining the UFC’s undisputed Featherweight Championship in spectacular fashion, winning by knock out in a mere 13 seconds. In a lot of ways this is the passing of the guard in the UFC; the man Conor beat for the championship, Jose Aldo, was on a 10 year undefeated streak in the 135 weightclass, racking up an impressive record against the best the world has to offer, however Conor winning the championship means a lot more to the UFC on a macro scale: star power.
The UFC has arguably been in a somewhat shaky situation obtaining breakout stars. For the last year, the UFC’s biggest star without a doubt has to have been Ronda Rousey, the former Women’s Bantamweight champion. Ronda, a noted Olympian, used her world class judo skills to propel herself to the top of her division, which the UFC quickly capitalized on, aggressively building her as a star. She almost single-handedly brought the public to recognize women’s MMA. But a recent upset loss, talks of retirement and a bright movie career all seem to cast shadows on Ronda staying with the UFC for the long term. The last few years have also seen the other biggest UFC stars losing some of their luster: the light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones ran into some drug trouble which caused him to be suspended and stripped of his title, long-running middleweight champion Anderson Silva lost two fights in a row and is rapidly climbing in age, and the biggest heavyweight of all time, Brock Lesnar, returned to professional wrestling. All of this has left a gap just big enough for one cocky Irish man who can talk his ass off and back it up.
Recently Europe, and Ireland in particular, have had a tough time having their fighters win the big matches in the UFC. It seems the United States and Brazil have cornered all of the championship belts, which started to take its toll on the European audiences. Over the last year, every UFC card Conor McGregor has been in has seen an increase in Irish fans flying in. The Irish fans are literally taking over in every arena he fights in. The soccer-esque chants, the flags waving in the stands, the Irish songs being sung, Conor is quite possibly the biggest celebrity in Ireland.
It is quite easy to see why Conor McGregor is garnering so much popularity, and it goes beyond his skills in the rings; the man knows how to talk. Carrying himself more like someone from the WWE than an athelete, Conor holds his tongue for no one. He sets up every interview like a promo, turning his tongue into a full auto weapon, mowing down every other fighter, even ones out of his weightclass. One can look back on other UFC fighters who made a name for themselves using their words to supplement their fists. Chael Sonnen, is a great example. Mainly a wrestler, Chael Sonnen talked himself into many title shots using a fighting style that many fans would find boring if utilized by any other fighter.
The future looks bright for Conor McGregor. With Jose Aldo defeated, the Featherweight division has been shaken up, with many promising fights in the future. But one thing has the UFC brass foaming at the mouth: a potential show in Ireland with McGregor defending his title. It could very well be the biggest draw ever for the UFC. Just one year ago, who could have pictured the biggest star in the UFC weighing only 135 pounds? One thing is for sure, we are going to be hearing the name Conor McGregor coming up more and more.
