UFC 205 was a hoot, for anyone who missed it. UFC President Dana White has said that the event “broke every record in UFC history.”
The event took in more $17.7 million at the gate, which not only broke the record for UFC, but also for Madison Square Garden, where the event was hosted.
Professional mixed martial arts weren’t allowed in the state of New York until earlier this year, when Governor Cuomo signed a bill to legalize it.
Perhaps the most startling record broken at the event, however, was Conor McGregor’s victory over Eddie Alvarez. The Irishman knocked out the Philadelphia native three minutes into the second round and became the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two championship belts: he now stands at the top of both the featherweight and lightweight categories.
Regular readers may recall our “Reasonable sports opinion of the week” several weeks ago, where I discussed McGregor’s ambitious goal. Well, now he’s done it.
His rise to star power has been swift. Growing up in Crumlin, a suburb of Dublin, McGregor had no interest in any particular career path. His mother set him up as an apprentice plumber, which he hated.
McGregor ditched plumbing and started MMA fighting in 2008. By 2013, he had his first UFC contract, and today he is widely considered to be the most influential fighter in the UFC.
McGregor’s success has been attributed not only to his fighting skill, but also to his talent for flagrant self-promotion.
The way he smack talks his opponents and builds up his challenges brings a sense of drama to the matches that adds greatly to the entertainment.
McGregor’s appeal is absolutely about his personality. More than 70,000 people applied for tickets to his press conference. Watching a fight is one thing, but watching a fighter answer questions?
Then he showed up late.
McGregor is a masterful entertainer who happens to be pretty good in a fight. With that attitude, he’ll go far. He’s already asked for an ownership stake in the UFC, arguing that he’s done so much for their popularity that he deserves it. Looking at the numbers, that’s hard to argue against.
