- Joined
- Jun 1, 2002
- Messages
- 19,802
- Reaction score
- 9,217
People routinely argue that Conor just doesn't have the same motivation to fight since he is beyond rich and does not need it.
That might well be true, but I think the more important factor is that precisely because Conor's brand is worth such an immense deal and generates massive income even as he idly sits without fighting, the single most important thing for McGregor at this point is to not risk lowering the value of his brand and thus his income.
Now, because his brand-value is contingent on public perception of him as a fighter, and this is bound to slowly diminish as time outside of the ring increases and interest wanes, this means that even more important than how much money he is bound to make in a future fight, when he does he must pick a fight that he knows he has optimal chances at winning, since losing at this point would invariably take a big hit on his brand-value. The most important thing for McGregor at this point is to not lose his next fight so as to restore brand value.
This is where things become difficult: at LW, the fact is, no fight is a sure thing for McGregor. He doesn't have the size advantage that allowed him to pressure his opponents at FW, and he has shown glaring holes in his ground game while the division is rife with very strong wrestlers and submission artists, who also have size over him.
Fighting Diaz seems smart, since he is well regarded, not the youngest cat in the block, has been beaten by McGregor before, and hasn't been competing very often. Yet he still poses very obvious threats, and McGregor barely squeaked the win in the second fight.
Masvidal is peaking in value and momentum right now, has the size and intensity to make that a nasty fight for McGregor. So probably not. Ferguson I think is a winnable fight, but he unfortunately is so damn unpopular it makes little financial sense. Cerrone was a good pick, insofar as he would be willing to bang it out for the fans, and doesn't care about losing too much, but losing to Ferg dissipated the hype.
Poirier, if he wins, is the surest way to catapult himself to peak hype, since he can claim he has a win over him from before, and the UFC can market that. They could just have Tony sit it out with a guaranteed shot, which would actually benefit him, since if Conor beats Poirier then Conor vs. Tony for the title makes Ferg a rich man. So his best shot is to wait and hope that Poirier beats Khabib. Chances of him winning against Khabib in a rematch are slender, to say the least.
That might well be true, but I think the more important factor is that precisely because Conor's brand is worth such an immense deal and generates massive income even as he idly sits without fighting, the single most important thing for McGregor at this point is to not risk lowering the value of his brand and thus his income.
Now, because his brand-value is contingent on public perception of him as a fighter, and this is bound to slowly diminish as time outside of the ring increases and interest wanes, this means that even more important than how much money he is bound to make in a future fight, when he does he must pick a fight that he knows he has optimal chances at winning, since losing at this point would invariably take a big hit on his brand-value. The most important thing for McGregor at this point is to not lose his next fight so as to restore brand value.
This is where things become difficult: at LW, the fact is, no fight is a sure thing for McGregor. He doesn't have the size advantage that allowed him to pressure his opponents at FW, and he has shown glaring holes in his ground game while the division is rife with very strong wrestlers and submission artists, who also have size over him.
Fighting Diaz seems smart, since he is well regarded, not the youngest cat in the block, has been beaten by McGregor before, and hasn't been competing very often. Yet he still poses very obvious threats, and McGregor barely squeaked the win in the second fight.
Masvidal is peaking in value and momentum right now, has the size and intensity to make that a nasty fight for McGregor. So probably not. Ferguson I think is a winnable fight, but he unfortunately is so damn unpopular it makes little financial sense. Cerrone was a good pick, insofar as he would be willing to bang it out for the fans, and doesn't care about losing too much, but losing to Ferg dissipated the hype.
Poirier, if he wins, is the surest way to catapult himself to peak hype, since he can claim he has a win over him from before, and the UFC can market that. They could just have Tony sit it out with a guaranteed shot, which would actually benefit him, since if Conor beats Poirier then Conor vs. Tony for the title makes Ferg a rich man. So his best shot is to wait and hope that Poirier beats Khabib. Chances of him winning against Khabib in a rematch are slender, to say the least.
Last edited:
