Even if you've never said it yourself, you've probably heard the phrase “He's the next Conor McGregor.” Ian Garry, Paddy Pimblett, Payton Talbot, Khamzat Chimaev. The list goes on. Each possesses to some degree the aura that Conor possesses in abundance. But is this timeless adage true? Often imitated, but never replicated.
Let's start with the stats. With a professional MMA record of 22-6, Conor has been in nine UFC PPV main events, eight of which have been in the top 10 most buyouts in UFC history. He has been a multi-division champion with UFC and was named Fighter of the Year by ESPN, Fox Sports, MMA Fighting, MMA Junkie and Sherdog during his tenure. Outside of MMA, his accolades are endless, including being named one of Rolling Stone's 25 Hottest Sex Symbols of 2015, Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2017 and even fighting the biggest star in boxing today, Floyd Mayweather. With all that in mind, it seems impossible for any fighter to match this legendary resume. Could this be a sign that people are proactively trying to fill the void that will eventually be left when Conor retires?
McGregor has such a large following, not necessarily because of his accomplishments, but rather because of his uniqueness. When he made his UFC debut in 2013, the MMA landscape was very different than it is today. Demetrious Johnson, Jose Aldo, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva were all champions during this time. These four fighters are arguably the best fighters to ever step into the Octagon, but they are known for their fighting sense and ring IQ. The 2013 ranks also included fighters like Nick Diaz and Chael Sonnen, who are dangerous fighters in their own right, but are known more for their persona and rhetoric than their title wins. There are two groups of fighters on the two sides of the same coin: one side is fight skills, the other is persona. That's where Conor McGregor comes in, bringing everything he's got from the then untapped Irish MMA pool. In his first six fights, he beat Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier and Chad Mendes before scoring an infamous 13-second knockout victory over potential featherweight GOAT Jose Aldo, and the rest is history.
This aura has earned him a fanbase that goes beyond UFC. No matter how well-versed you are in mixed martial arts, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard of him. Now he's a whiskey owner, a co-owner of BKFC, a clothing brand owner (August McGregor), a pub owner, and now a mainstream actor.
It's safe to say that this aura and fan support will never fade. Unfortunately, Conor has multiple traffic violations, a record of multiple clashes with fellow fighters at MMA events, and a few brushes with the law that could have negatively impacted his career. Combine this with the fact that he has only one win in the past seven years, a record that would have left most fighters off the roster. However, UFC 303 was announced with Conor as the headliner, and once again thousands of fans came out and paid big bucks to see the legendary Conor McGregor fight. The cheapest seats for UFC 303 were rumored to be $1,500, with some fans posting receipts for over $27,000.
In conclusion, it seems that Conor McGregor is indeed one of a kind. Love him or hate him, people will pay to watch him fight and fans will wait with bated breath for his next fight and patiently wait to see how long it will last. This has never been replicated before his debut and only time will tell if this will happen again in the UFC, but it seems unlikely that such a fighter will come along anytime soon and be bestowed with the title of “the next Conor McGregor”.
