The UFC’s new golden child is returning, and he’s not returning for the gold.
According to a Thursday report from Steven Marrocco of MMAjunkie.com, Conor McGregor—the fast-rising featherweight who has quickly captured the attention of mixed martial arts fans and UFC brass—will return to the Octagon in January for a bout against Dennis Siver.
The fight will headline an as-yet-unannounced event from Boston that takes place January 18. It will air on Fox Sports 1 immediately after the NFC Championship Game.
I’ve repeatedly stated my belief that McGregor should face the winner of Saturday’s featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. I’ve heard all the arguments against it: McGregor hasn’t faced a wrestler. He has just four fights in the UFC. He hasn’t faced enough top-ranked competition.
I’ve heard all those arguments, and I understand them. There is validity to them. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel like it’s probably smarter to act when there’s a buzz. With apologies to B.J. Penn—whose ill-fated, rigid trip to featherweight left many scratching their heads—there has never been a big star at 145 pounds or below. Frankie Edgar is a star of some magnitude. Urijah Faber is still a star and always will be.
But there has never been a concrete and bankable superstar in the lower weight classes. Of course, the UFC has very few of those in any weight class these days, which is why we hear about the potential return of Brock Lesnar every six months or so. And that’s why the handling of McGregor is so important: because there is a chance he will be one of the biggest stars in the UFC in a very short period of time.
And that’s why I wanted to see McGregor face the winner of Aldo-Mendes. You have to strike when the iron is hot, and McGregor is hot. Putting him in a situation where he could lose a fight and derail his run to the top doesn’t make sense.
Fortunately for McGregor, this is a sublime piece of matchmaking by the UFC. Much like Dustin Poirier, Siver‘s style is tailor-made for McGregor to shine. Siver is a dangerous striker, but he’s slower than McGregor and is far less technical. McGregor‘s boxing game is disciplined, and his footwork and head movement are on a different level than Siver.
In short, it’s a great chance for McGregor to shine. There’s always the chance Siver could land one of his devastating spinning back kicks. But McGregor‘s understanding and usage of space makes that unlikely at best.
There’s also the fact that the fight is scheduled to take place on Fox Sports 1 after the NFC Championship Game. That means McGregor will get maximum exposure. Would it be better if the fight aired on Fox itself? Of course. But I suspect we’ll see at least a few McGregor-centric commercials for the fight during the NFC Championship Game, and that should translate into a large audience for McGregor vs. Siver.
And then there’s the matchup itself. Many will complain that Siver is not a wrestler and that McGregor is being held by the hand and ushered safely through the division. And those folks have a point, because McGregor is in almost no danger of being taken down by Siver, just as he’s rarely been in danger of being taken down in his UFC career.
But here’s the thing: Eventually, McGregor will have to face a wrestler. If he keeps winning, he’ll fight for the championship. And if he wins the championship, he’ll have to defend it against the best contenders in the division, which means facing Mendes and Dennis Bermudez and others with plenty of wrestling skill. His takedown defense will eventually be tested.
The UFC has created plenty of intriguing matchups over the past few years. But what the promotion hasn’t done, for the most part, is create new stars. Our inner sports fan may not like it, but stars are the engine of mixed martial arts. We can rant about deserving contenders and undeserving title challengers until we are blue in the face.
But the point of promoting is creating fights that people want to see and fights that people will pay to see.
I’d rather see McGregor fight for the title in his next bout. I think the timing is right. But if Fox is willing to promote McGregor vs. Siver during the NFC Championship, and a large audience tunes in to watch, he’ll have the platform to cement himself as one of the UFC’s biggest stars.
All he’ll have to do at that point is deliver. If he does, he’ll make the UFC brass look like geniuses, and he’ll make them a lot of money in the process.
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