Put aside the swagger of his accented delivery, and Conor McGregor speaks a lot of truth. Much as his fight game was underrated, hidden behind his verbosity, so, too, at times is his meaning. There are often layers to what he says. Other times, he is direct and blunt, as he was during September’s “Go Big” press conference.
“I can make you rich,” he said, directing his message to UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. I’ll change your bum life. You fight me, it’s a celebration. When you sign to fight me, it’s a celebration. You ring back home, you ring your wife, ‘Baby we done it. We’re rich, baby. Conor McGregor made us rich. Break out the red panties. We’re rich, baby!'”
Given his exploding fame and the corresponding box-office and pay-per-view receipts of his fights, McGregor is on the money about generating money. His opponents have a chance to cash in, in a way they otherwise likely never could. So when Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone square off at this Saturday’s UFC on Fox main event, they will have two prizes to chase. One is the UFC lightweight title; the other is a shot at McGregor.
A fighter’s true prime is surprisingly brief. Think about how quickly the force of nature that was Shane Carwin came and went. Or how Dominick Cruz has struggled to stay healthy enough to fight regularly. Or how T.J. Grant won a lightweight title shot but never got the opportunity to cash it in. That means the window to make money is beginning to slide shut almost the moment you step into the UFC.
After knocking out Jose Aldo last weekend in just 13 seconds, McGregor’s future is wide-open. He could face Aldo in a rematch (not likely), could take on contender Frankie Edgar (more likely) or he might chase his previously stated goal of becoming a two-division champion.
That means that the winner of dos Anjos vs. Cerrone is in play as a possible opponent for him.
That’s a fight that Saturday night’s winner should immediately and proactively lobby for. Look, for instance, at Chad Mendes, who went from a $48,000 base salary in facing Ricardo Lamas in April, to $500,000 for fighting McGregor in July. Last Friday, in his first post-McGregor fight, Mendes’ base pay dipped down to $82,000.
As a UFC champion, the winner will have excellent leverage in setting up a title vs. title bout. In fact, their push might be key to setting it up.
The UFC has historically spoken a lot about champion vs. champion bouts, but the only bout between two undisputed UFC belt-holders came in Jan. 2009, when B.J. Penn challenged Georges St-Pierre and lost via fourth-round TKO, the last stoppage win of GSP’s career.
That fight was put together in part due to the lobbying effort of Penn, who often spoke of his desire to rematch St-Pierre and avenge his 2006 defeat.
There are two gauges to measure prospective bouts. One is the respective skill level. Is the matchup athletically compelling? The other is the interest level. How many people will care?
So of the possibilities (Aldo, Edgar and the dos Anjos-Cerrone winner), which offers the biggest potential? This is how McGregor thinks. He is focused on business in a way few fighters are, understanding his value, how to promote a bout and how to maximize interest in himself as a product.
McGregor chooses his words carefully, and just after winning the belt, publicly entertained the possibility of moving up to add the lightweight belt to his collection. As paydays go, it would likely be the most lucrative of the three, particularly if Cerrone, a 2-1 underdog, were to upset dos Anjos.
Cerrone is one of the few who would probably even attempt to match barbs with McGregor, as he did during the aforementioned “Go Big” press conference. That would bring additional attention, additional headlines and additional eyeballs to their fight. But even if dos Anjos won, the prospect of McGregor becoming the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion would be a strong selling point as he does the rounds to promote the event.
By contrast, the soft-spoken Edgar offers little to play off of. While he is unquestionably deserving of a featherweight title shot after five straight wins, Edgar is a tougher sell. We can say that shouldn’t matter, but we all know better. McGregor certainly does. Which is why dos Anjos and Cerrone better get ready for what comes after Saturday night. The belt is nice, but the big money awaits.
Generally, most champions have pay-per-view points in their contracts. When the UFC accounting team is done poring over the event receipts, McGregor will make multimillions for his win over Aldo last week. So, too, will Aldo. Ironically, after a celebrated 10-year unbeaten run, a 13-second loss will easily be the biggest payday of his career.
That is the power of McGregor. His fighting could very well speak for itself, but he won’t allow it to. For his opponents, that is good thing. His talking will make you rich.
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