The Conor McGregor thread 2.0

[Bus Surfer]

I don't disagree about Conor getting another crack at Dustin but if you watched Dustin's press conference he's said he wants the Conor rematch or Diaz next. Clearly wants to bag another pay day which he's rightfully earned but will not go down well with people. 

I wouldn't agree with it at all but can anyone else envisage a scenario where Dana proclaims that based on the weekends result, Dustin is the no. 1 contender and that he will be fighting Conor for the belt (That's  the real quiz!!) ... I seriously wouldn't put it past the UFC. Especially if Dustin is on board with the rematch. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Silky Kisser

[Kfogg1991]

2 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

McG clearly hasn't realised just how much his star has fallen if he thinks he can get a trilogy fight with Poirier. In previous years, I'm sure Plastic Caesar would've been all over that, but now he sees the writing on the wall and realises that McG is just not worth the return any more, given the infrequency with which fights, and how much he appears to be on the slide.

The Diaz fight is the one to make. And I know I'm getting predictable in saying this, but it shows just how much of a waste it was to let him go, but Anthony Pettis would've been a fun matchup too. McGregor vs. Hooker might not be a bad idea either.

Furthermore, at first I didn't agree with Poirier about Chandler "just coming in" and having not earned a shot, as I thought it was unfair to ignore his Bellator record, but on mature reflection, I rather see his point. So Chandler vs. McG might also be a decent option.

I 100% agree with you on this I think this loss to Dustin is incredibly damaging to anyone out there that isn't looking through the rose tinted glasses that most McGregor elitist's see through. It also isn't just the fact he was beaten it was so much more than that, The fact he got his leg shredded by those leg kicks and then stupidly said that he hadn't trained to block them which is mental when you listen to the interview with John Kavanagh where he stated they HAD trained to look out for those but they did it in a training setting with shin pads on which isn't the same ect ect. Then the fact he threw all he could at Dustin and he just eat it and got the eventual win via KO which no one has ever done before. 

In that interview I just mentioned above with Ariel & Kavanagh he said he didn't know what was next for Conor weather it will be another MMA fight OR a Boxing fight and as soon as those words exited his mouth I laughed because if Conor even entertains the idea of fucking off out of the UFC again to go do yet another boxing fight which he has 0 chance of winning and will just be in it for the big payday then I truly believe he will turn round and find that the core MMA fanbase he has left will have said fuck off and turned there backs on him completely leaving him with very little options left at all. 

On top of that someone I was listening to on Youtube or a podcast made a fantastic point about his ridiculous dreams of this boxing fight, Dana and the UFC had to sign off and give the okay for the Mayweather fight to go ahead and take place as he was under contract with the UFC and anything outside of it is essentially breaking that contract so it needed the okay from Dana and the UFC. There isn't a chance they will give the go ahead a second time around which as a result would mean 1/2 less opportunities for him to fight for the UFC and a couple of people have said they don't think this fight that Conor wants with Manny Pacquiao is remotely as big as the Mayweather fight was so it isn't at all in there best interest to let it happen a second time. If Conor is being serious and not bullshitting and trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes and he IS still passionate and determined to be in the UFC then he needs to accept the loss that just happened, Pick himself back up and get the next one booked in for May/June time. Like you said his star power and that big untouchable mystique he has had for the past 6/7 years is rapidly fading and doing anything else will fuck it up entirely for him.

[Carbomb]

Bang on. I'm not particularly bothered by what he does next, but from an outsider's point of view, it seems to me that, if he wants to have any chance of getting back the profile he had and earning the money he did, he needs to wind his neck in, remember that MMA is his bread-and-butter and therefore the only reason he had his success in the first place, and train to win at that again. He's not a boxer, never will be, and he doesn't have enough kudos to keep getting money from doing those matches. The reason he's earned so much is that he's an excellent promoter, but his shtick only works when he's winning, and the longer he goes without fighting, let alone a fucking win, the less public exposure he'll have to win people over.

For me, of course, he'd have to un-assault those women and that old bloke first, so fuck him.

[Kfogg1991]

Spot on Carbomb your also 100% right there. Another big problem and point that hasn't been mentioned as much IMO is Conor and Dana for so many years now have completely bought into the fact that Conor McGregor for the longest time was the biggest star in the entire history of the UFC and no matter what that guy does within the company or indeed outside the company he's got away with so much......Probably fucking way way more than anyone else would ever dream of getting away with just because of the star power and like I've mentioned the mystique that has surrounded him for his entire UFC career. There is only so many times you can let someone get away with blatantly taking the piss and being a fucking cunt outside the octagon before you look at the bigger picture and accept that those things are massively hurting his reputation and fanbase, That's without factoring in the losses to Nate/Khabbib/Dustin. 

The sheer amount of money they throw at that man to get him booked and top of the bill is fucking staggering and is about 50x the amount that MOST main eventers even dream about making. I've just seen on twitter that the Issy vs Jan title fight is booked for March 6th (UFC 259) IF and it's a massive IF Issy goes in there and gets the job done and becomes a 2 division champ (Which he and Dana have said if he does win he has the absolute intention of remaining active within both divisions and defending both) Then that's another big selling point that Conor has struck off the list.......Yes he was the first to do it, But he also instantly got stripped of 1 of them because they knew there was absolutely 0 fucking chance he would or could defend both of them. 

While I accept Dustin said in the post fight presser he would be happy to have the trilogy fight with Conor straight away or Nate if he doesn't get the title fight next, Why would the UFC and Dana want to hold back Dustin from having that title fight a position he has grafted so hard to get and been regularly active, Nothing at all negative or bad thrown his way and when he has had a couple of bad nights and losses he has held his head up and worked even harder to get to the top of that division only to give Conor what he feels he wants instead. 

I personally think Conor is being quite smart there and heard Dana say that Khabbib is staying retired and has no intention of coming back and knows full well that Dustin is next in line for the vacant title shot and feels that trying to get that immediate rematch/Trilogy fight with him could possibly be made for the vacant belt meaning it's another smart way of trying to edge himself in the Title picture when he has proven he has had his chance and now whatever anyone says should be fighting someone that is in the top 5 next and needs to rack up a couple of wins before he should even be entertained as a title contender again.  

[Egg Shen]

1 hour ago, Silky Kisser said:

I don't disagree about Conor getting another crack at Dustin but if you watched Dustin's press conference he's said he wants the Conor rematch or Diaz next. Clearly wants to bag another pay day which he's rightfully earned but will not go down well with people. 

I wouldn't agree with it at all but can anyone else envisage a scenario where Dana proclaims that based on the weekends result, Dustin is the no. 1 contender and that he will be fighting Conor for the belt (That's  the real quiz!!) ... I seriously wouldn't put it past the UFC. Especially if Dustin is on board with the rematch. 

Id have no issue with the immediate rematch. If any fight series goes 1-1, the common thing to do is have a deciding rubber match, and in any other situation i think that's what most people would call for.

The issue is the belt. I dont see why they leave the belt on Khabib for a next 6 months and just let lightweight play out with a few more fights. Do Poirier/McGregor 2, do Oliveira/Chandler. See how things stand after that and then put the belt back in the mix. What I can see happening though is Poirier wanting the belt being on the line when they negotiate a deal for a second Conor fight. This may come down to it being part of Poirier's demands rather than Conor's. If a vacant belt being on the line factors into the money Poirier can make in a rubber match (PPV points and all that) the fans really shouldn't really have an issue with it because Poirier deservers everything he gets.

[David]

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

McG clearly hasn't realised just how much his star has fallen if he thinks he can get a trilogy fight with Poirier. In previous years, I'm sure Plastic Caesar would've been all over that, but now he sees the writing on the wall and realises that McG is just not worth the return any more, given the infrequency with which fights, and how much he appears to be on the slide.

Wait, what?

How do you come to that conclusion? There has been absolutely nothing to suggest that McGregor isn't worth the return anymore. We're talking about a guy who sold 1.35 million PPV's for a fight against a washed-up Cowboy Cerrone. A guy coming into the fight on the back of two straight losses.

And he still managed to deliver the highest-selling PPV of the year. 

He was a significant part of the reason that the company shifted 2.5 million buys for the Khabib vs Conor event, and I have zero doubt that even after the Poirier loss, if the UFC announced tomorrow that they were going with a Conor vs Khabib rematch it would hit close to those numbers once again.

Reports suggest a figure of around 1.6 million buys for this Poirier fight, which will absolutely be the highest number the company gets this year unless McGregor himself tops it.

Let's be real here. If Conor calls Dana and says he wants the immediate rematch with Poirier, that's what he'll get. And it's what Poirier will absolutely be happy to sign up for. And why wouldn't he? You think he's going to pocket the same kind of money if he faced Michael Chandler? 

Poirier made around $300,000 for his win over Dan Hooker, and $290,000 for his fight with Khabib. His contract stipulates a flat $150,000 to show and the same again for a win except for his title tilt with Khabib where he was interim champion, where it was a $250,000 to show payment.

He made close to $1 million for his fight with McGregor, and you have to believe that he'd be entitled to a bigger chunk of change in any rematch. Why would he not snap the hand off Dana if that was offered?

1 hour ago, Kfogg1991 said:

In that interview I just mentioned above with Ariel & Kavanagh he said he didn't know what was next for Conor weather it will be another MMA fight OR a Boxing fight and as soon as those words exited his mouth I laughed because if Conor even entertains the idea of fucking off out of the UFC again to go do yet another boxing fight which he has 0 chance of winning and will just be in it for the big payday then I truly believe he will turn round and find that the core MMA fanbase he has left will have said fuck off and turned there backs on him completely leaving him with very little options left at all. 

Are you being serious? You think if McGregor did decide to take part in a boxing match this year that fans would turn their backs on him? The "core MMA fanbase he has left" is still as big as it ever was until the numbers start to show otherwise.

And they aren't dropping at the moment. He's still the biggest star in the sport by a country mile.

41 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said:

While I accept Dustin said in the post fight presser he would be happy to have the trilogy fight with Conor straight away or Nate if he doesn't get the title fight next, Why would the UFC and Dana want to hold back Dustin from having that title fight a position he has grafted so hard to get and been regularly active, Nothing at all negative or bad thrown his way and when he has had a couple of bad nights and losses he has held his head up and worked even harder to get to the top of that division only to give Conor what he feels he wants instead. 

Poirier said in the post-fight presser that he would welcome the rematch because he'd stand to make well over $1 million from it, that's why. It's got nothing to do with holding anyone back, it's all about earning the biggest paycheque possible. 

He'd be lucky to make half the money fighting against Chandler for the title than he would if he fought McGregor again. 

44 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said:

I personally think Conor is being quite smart there and heard Dana say that Khabbib is staying retired and has no intention of coming back and knows full well that Dustin is next in line for the vacant title shot and feels that trying to get that immediate rematch/Trilogy fight with him could possibly be made for the vacant belt meaning it's another smart way of trying to edge himself in the Title picture when he has proven he has had his chance and now whatever anyone says should be fighting someone that is in the top 5 next and needs to rack up a couple of wins before he should even be entertained as a title contender again.  

God bless mate, because you seem to have a naive view of how things work. McGregor doesn't need the title. He's bigger than the title. He could hand-pick opponents and fight once or twice a year if he wanted and he'd still be the biggest name in the sport. 

There's no one in the UFC not named Khabib who wouldn't take a fight with McGregor if offered. Championship or not.

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

I'm not particularly bothered by what he does next, but from an outsider's point of view, it seems to me that, if he wants to have any chance of getting back the profile he had and earning the money he did, he needs to wind his neck in, remember that MMA is his bread-and-butter and therefore the only reason he had his success in the first place, and train to win at that again.

Is he earning less money than he did before? Does he have a lesser profile? Because from what I can see he's still drawing in the same numbers pretty much?

The 1.6 million buys against Poirier and 1.35 million buys against Cowboy are comparable to the numbers he did against Alvarez, Aldo and both Diaz fights. In fact, the Poirier fight looks set to beat the numbers McGregor did against Alvarez, Diaz 1 and Aldo.

I know it's insane, but his selling power hasn't diminished for the most part. The Khabib fight was a mega-fight, but outwith that his numbers haven't dropped since 2015.

If he's drawing the same number of PPV's I don't think his earnings will be down. In fact, considering he's renegotiated his deal a few times since 2015 it's probably went up.

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

He's not a boxer, never will be, and he doesn't have enough kudos to keep getting money from doing those matches. The reason he's earned so much is that he's an excellent promoter, but his shtick only works when he's winning, and the longer he goes without fighting, let alone a fucking win, the less public exposure he'll have to win people over.

He's not a boxer, you're right. But he has the 2nd biggest PPV buy rate in the history of boxing to his name. There's a reason why an 0-1 fighter was a serious contender to face Manny Pacquiao.

Not only that, only a week or so ago the President of the WBC publicly stated that if McGregor fought and beat a ranked opponent he'd be in contention for a WBC title shot against either middleweight champion Jermall Charlo or even super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

You think his lack of kudos would stop Canelo from entertaining the idea of a fight with Conor? Of course not.

[Carbomb]

Alright, @David, I overstated the case a bit. What I meant to convey is that McG's profile has, with this Poirier loss and his inactivity, diminished his value to the UFC to the point where he probably won't just get what he wants when he asks for it, any more, because, as much as he brings in money, he fights so infrequently as to make him unreliable, especially with him banging on about retirement when he doesn't get his way - he's become a bonus to the UFC, not an essential, so they've learned to live without him, and he doesn't have the same leverage as at his height. That's not to say he won't get preference at all when he asks for stuff, just that it won't always be a given.

Truth be told, I didn't know that the WBC president had said that. Bloody stupid, but then I don't expect much from the boxing establishment.

It boggles the mind that, after being obliterated by Nurmagomedov and Poirier, sitting out for ages having claimed to retire, and having been in a boxing match that, whilst it made him super-rich, exposed him as being more out of his depth than if he was swimming in the Marianas Trench, he's pulling in anywhere near the same numbers as before. I know that being a fucking bin-fire of a person generally doesn't affect his popularity, but I'd have thought being completely outclassed in three of his last four fights would've put at least something of a dent in it. 

[jimufctna24]

A third meeting between McGregor and DP would draw an impressive number.

However, I believe McGregor's drawing power would diminish if DP beat him again. There is only so many times a fighter can lose before they start to lose their appeal. 

He'll probably still remain MMA's biggest drawing card until he retires though. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by jimufctna24

[David]

15 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

Alright, @David, I overstated the case a bit. What I meant to convey is that McG's profile has, with this Poirier loss and his inactivity, diminished his value to the UFC to the point where he probably won't just get what he wants when he asks for it, any more, because, as much as he brings in money, he fights so infrequently as to make him unreliable, especially with him banging on about retirement when he doesn't get his way - he's become a bonus to the UFC, not an essential, so they've learned to live without him, and he doesn't have the same leverage as at his height. That's not to say he won't get preference at all when he asks for stuff, just that it won't always be a given.

Despite finding it just as mind boggling as yourself, I think he is still very much an essential commodity to the UFC. The fighter who is always going to bring in the most PPV sales and generate the most interest is always going to be an essential commodity. He can be the difference between the UFC having a decent year, or a great year. 

I actually saw it mentioned that if he fights twice in one year he's basically earning the company around $800 million in revenue, streaming, PPV, advertising, and gate money (when it can happen).

If he fights three times this year, as he claims he wants to, you're talking over $1 billion in revenue. And that's not even including the gate receipts. 

For that very reason, and considering that business as whole is down at the moment, I'd wager that he actually holds more leverage than he ever has. The company needs him more than ever in a time where they cannot rely on gate receipts. 

20 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

It boggles the mind that, after being obliterated by Nurmagomedov and Poirier, sitting out for ages having claimed to retire, and having been in a boxing match that, whilst it made him super-rich, exposed him as being more out of his depth than if he was swimming in the Marianas Trench, he's pulling in anywhere near the same numbers as before. I know that being a fucking bin-fire of a person generally doesn't affect his popularity, but I'd have thought being completely outclassed in three of his last four fights would've put at least something of a dent in it. 

The problem with the boxing match is that Mayweather isn't stupid. He could very easily have gone out there and done to Conor what he did to undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa a few years back, dropping him three times in the first round to end the fight.

He didn't though. He basically allowed McGregor to look competitive for the first three or four rounds. Probably with the intention of using it to promote a potential rematch down the line. The old "Well, Conor looked dangerous and held his own initially! Imagine how he'll do now that he's trained more and Mayweather is older! He's got the big left hand, bro! This could be Conor's night! Take my money!"

Not to mention, it's the nature of MMA. Every fight has the potential to be different. And McGregor is a master of planting that seed of doubt.

Even in the post-fight presser he was saying shit like "I'll go away and look to change things up, I'll combat the effects of that low kick. I have some ideas already."

You just know his fans are thinking "Fuck yeah! If he defends the leg kicks it's a different fight man, shit won't go down the same way in the rubber match!"

And on the circus goes.

[Egg Shen]

yeh the circus moves on.

It never fails to amuse me that so many fans got annoyed by stuff like the 'Khabib scurried away' comments. All Conor is doing is sowing the seeds for another fight and keeping doors open. He's arguably the greatest self promoter in the history of combat sports yet people still seem outraged by the most basic of promotional tactics, its pro wrestling promotion 101.

I dont agree that Floyd carried Conor for the benefit of the fans entertainment though. I think Floyd simply played it safe until he felt all the sting go out of Conor's punches (which wasnt long) then simply took over.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Egg Shen

[David]

21 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

yeh the circus moves on.

It never fails to amuse me that so many fans got annoyed by stuff like the 'Khabib scurried away' comments. All Conor is doing is sowing the seeds for another fight and keeping doors open. He's arguably the greatest self promoter in the history of combat sports yet people still seem outraged by the most basic of promotional tactics, its pro wrestling promotion 101.

As he said to Khabib during his arse kicking: It's all about business.

21 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

I dont agree that Floyd carried Conor for the benefit of the fans entertainment though. I think Floyd simply played it safe until he felt all the sting go out of Conor's punches (which wasnt long) then simply took over.

Go back and look at the volume of punches Floyd threw. He wasn't even trying to win early doors. Compare that to the fight with Nasukawa where he was clearly looking for a quick night.

Floyd even admitted that he wanted to put on a bit of a show after the McGregor fight. 

[Egg Shen]

Yeh but Floyd admitting that is as much about him protecting his business as it is Conor coming out and claiming a poor camp prior to Khabib. There's absolutely no way Floyd dragged that thing out for the benefit of the paying audience.

[David]

12 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Yeh but Floyd admitting that is as much about him protecting his business as it is Conor coming out and claiming a poor camp prior to Khabib. There's absolutely no way Floyd dragged that thing out for the benefit of the paying audience.

There's a better chance of the greatest boxer in recent memory, and perhaps the greatest defensive boxer of all time dragging out an exhibition bout for entertainment purposes than there is of said boxer "playing it safe" against a total boxing novice.

Unless, of course, you're thinking that Mayweather was wary of the mythical "big left hand" of doom? 

[Keith Houchen]

27 minutes ago, David said:

There's a better chance of the greatest boxer in recent memory, and perhaps the greatest defensive boxer of all time dragging out an exhibition bout for entertainment purposes than there is of said boxer "playing it safe" against a total boxing novice.

Unless, of course, you're thinking that Mayweather was wary of the mythical "big left hand" of doom? 

Innit. Mayweather knows the long game and knows business. When the Pac-Man fight took place, he said it was worth ten times what it was when first proposed six years previous. 
 

The McG fight was an event. A huge money spinning event. It was his easiest and biggest payday. Now, would a businessman look at the long game? Had he sparked him in the opening rounds, a rematch wouldn’t make bank. A fight that nearly went the distance? Now that sets the clamour for a rematch down the line and another easy payday. As Mayweather said, he doesn’t care about the zero in the loss column, he cares about the zeros in the bank account. 

[David]

15 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Innit. Mayweather knows the long game and knows business. When the Pac-Man fight took place, he said it was worth ten times what it was when first proposed six years previous. 
 

The McG fight was an event. A huge money spinning event. It was his easiest and biggest payday. Now, would a businessman look at the long game? Had he sparked him in the opening rounds, a rematch wouldn’t make bank. A fight that nearly went the distance? Now that sets the clamour for a rematch down the line and another easy payday. As Mayweather said, he doesn’t care about the zero in the loss column, he cares about the zeros in the bank account. 

And how many McGregor fans came away from the fight believing their man came closer to beating Floyd than any other opponent? Those fans are just walking, drinking dollar signs to Money May.