Conor McGregor’s imprint on MMA can be likened to the indelible mark left by Michael Jordan on basketball or Jonah Lomu on rugby union.
Once in a generation, a special character can drag a sport forwards and McGregor’s crafted brand of showmanship combined with skill was a perfect marriage for the UFC.
His latest retirement has provoked a deeper appreciation for the enormous impact he’s had as the first international crossover superstar in cage fighting, taking the sport mainstream.
Conor McGregor has had a greater impact on MMA than any other fighter in the sport
The Irishman, now retired once more, took the promotion to another level as a crossover star
On Thursday, McGregor’s long-time coach John Kavanagh tweeted: ‘I’ve a had a few UFC fighters pull me aside fight week and say something along the lines of “I might not like your boy but we should all be sending him 5%. He’s changed the game for all of us.” Be grateful and you’ll receive more to be grateful for.’
It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. The UFC was certainly on the up before McGregor arrived but there’s little chance your grandma would have heard of any fighters.
Now the name Conor McGregor has become inextricably linked with the organisation, which has exploded in popularity.
As the fighters gear up for the highly anticipated UFC 251 on Fight Island this weekend, McGregor will be conspicuous by his absence. It will be headlined by Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal, with the former defending his welterweight title.
The UFC made an estimated £252m increase in revenue between 2016 and this year having only made incremental gains before that, even suffering a dip between 2014-15 with a drop of £52m.
McGregor fought three times in 2016, his two high-profile grudge matches against Nate Diaz and then the lightweight title victory over Eddie Alvarez.
McGregor has five of the top six pay-per-views in UFC history, including the Jose Aldo fight
The Irishman even had his own fly-on-the-wall documentary released on Netflix
It was a massive year for both the Irishman and UFC, with revenues continuing to soar ever since, reaching an estimated £848m last year.
When you look at the pay-per-view records, the lure of McGregor is even more apparent.
Five of the top six pay-per-view events in UFC history had McGregor as the headline act. His showdown with Russian nemesis Khabib Nurmagomedov hauled in 2.4m buys in the United States alone, setting a record for the promotion.
And of course there was the ‘Money Fight’, his foray into boxing against Floyd Mayweather, which was accompanied by a stadium tour for publicity. It proved to be an even greater success, bringing in 4.3m buys.
Although it was a boxing match, McGregor’s charisma attracted even more eyes to MMA, many for the first time.
McGregor’s ability to market himself has set a precedent for other fighters to follow
He has 36.6m Instagram followers and 8.1m on Twitter. And other fighters soon became aware that performing on the same card as McGregor was massively beneficial for growing their profile.
Only 24 hours after UFC 229 and McGregor’s defeat by Khabib, the Russian had gained a staggering 3.1m new followers. Tony Ferguson jumped by 100,000 and Derrick Lewis 507,000.
In total, the other competitors that night saw their fan base increase by 5.1 million in total.
Even from their first meeting, UFC president Dana White knew he had someone special on the books.
‘The first time I met him, we flew him into Vegas and he and I went to dinner, and I was blown away by him,’ White said.
‘When I got in my car, I called [then-UFC owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I said, “Let me tell you what, I don’t know if this kid can fight, but if he can even throw a punch, this kid is going to be a huge superstar.'”
Not only did McGregor fulfil that prophecy as an athlete but also as a marketing dream for the UFC. He has always been incredibly active on social media, even building his profile by employing a fly-on-the-wall documentary team to follow him around and post the content online in the run-up to big fights.
McGregor became the first fighter to hold two titles simultaneously in the UFC back in 2016
Khabib Nurmagomedov increased his Instagram followers by 3.1million after winning
His movie ‘Notorious’ streams on Netflix and his persona chimes perfectly with the demographic interested in MMA.
According to IMG ARENA, 88 per cent of the sport’s fans are aged between 18 and 44, with 75 per cent of them male.
The UFC Instagram page has more followers than the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL and is an advertiser’s dream with their young and engaged fanbase.
UFC fans are 129 per cent more likely to regularly bet while watching any live sport in comparison to an average spectator.
McGregor also made a great deal of his heritage, draping the Irish tricolour flag over him, declaring: ‘We’re not here to take part, we’re here to take over’, and taking thousands of supporters with him to paint Las Vegas green on big fight weeks.
The fact that the biggest star in the sport came from outside the United States was also a key growth factor for the UFC.
The fact that McGregor came from outside the USA helped to grow the sport globally
McGregor’s crossover to boxing for ‘The Money Fight’ helped garner even more attention
They now have broadcast deals in 165 countries, 300m fans worldwide with an estimated reach of 1.1billion households.
Combat sports have always been about selling personalities as much as the sporting contest itself and while colourful characters weren’t exactly hard to come by before McGregor made his UFC debut in 2013, he became a gifted salesman.
His press conferences became must-watch with soundbites aplenty and usually an extravagant suit from his wardrobe.
And while many found his crass, in-your-face and often offensive style difficult to stomach, it was always compelling viewing and crucially he had the skills to back it up.
McGregor labelled himself the ‘champ champ’ after becoming the first man to hold simultaneous titles in two weight classes. And many doubt that his latest retirement, his third, will last long.
The fight of the year is not far away as Jorge Masvidal takes on Kamaru Usman at UFC 251
Usman, the welterweight champ, is the bookies favourite having enjoyed a full training camp
Prior to his retirement, McGregor had been expected to fight again this year, with Anderson Silva, Jorge Masvidal, and a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov touted as likely options.
Masvidal is fighting this weekend against Usman at UFC 251, stepping in at the last moment to replace Gilbert Burns, who tested positive for coronavirus and was thus unable to make the bout.
A late replacement hasn’t generated this much excitement since Nate Diaz stepped in to fight McGregor at UFC 196.
The pair of Usman and Masvidal have wasted no time firing off verbal barbs at each other, much like McGregor became known for doing throughout his career in the lead up to big contests.
Masvidal in particular has been following in McGregor’s footsteps in another way, making a grand show of his travel arrangements ahead of the fight, posting pictures of himself tucking into pizza while wearing an extravagant robe on his private jet.
Masvidal posted a picture of himself eating some pizza on his jet after stopping over in Rome
There are clearly a number of factors in the UFC’s continued rampant growth, not just the impact of one superstar. Their television deal with ESPN was a huge milestone and the company have continued to make great strides even when McGregor is inactive.
The man himself has also been fully aware of his importance, previously demanding a stake in the company and even having them advertise his own McGregor Sports and Entertainment business along with Proper 12 whiskey.
Many of his peers have been accepting that they’ve been the beneficiaries of McGregor’s rise.
UFC heavyweight and commentator Daniel Cormier thinks the company needs to pull out all the stops to bring McGregor back.
‘Everything’s just bigger when he competes. It’s not worth risking losing him for the long term because you can’t make him happy right now.
The ‘Notorious’ made press conferences almost as entertaining as the fights themselves
‘You gotta figure it out, you gotta make it happen. Again it’s not worth the penalty if he walks away. It’s not worth it, you gotta make it work for him,’ he said on the DC and Helwani show.
Joe Rogan, the UFC’s veteran colour commentator summed it up when he said: ‘You’re never going to see another one like him, he’s a unique person.
‘He’s the first guy in the UFC who has been able to s*** talk so much but also have spectacular results.
‘It’s almost like we don’t have a word strong enough, “unique” is not strong enough.’
If McGregor has truly called it quits, he can do so in the knowledge that no fighter has had a greater impact on MMA in the history of the sport.
