In light of the news that UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor will next face Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight crown, it’s clear that the Irishman holds all the cards and calls all the shots.
The UFC’s return to New York, after being blackballed for over two decades, was always going to be a monumental night for the elite mixed martial arts promotion.
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The November 13 (AEST) event at Madison Square Garden was already a talent-rich event, with a welterweight and women’s strawweight title fight penciled in to headline the card.
While that was an appetising serving for the diehard followers of the product, it was apparent that casual observers wouldn’t be rushing to scoop up tickets without McGregor’s bearded face on the poster.
Over the past week, UFC president Dana White hushed talks of McGregor fighting at MSG, claiming the knockout puncher was injured and could not compete on the blockbuster pay-per-view.
Then he told Yahoo Sports that McGregor’s next bout will be against Jose Aldo for the featherweight championship – a title he won in December, before immediately skipping town to take on bigger opponents.
Then he said Alvarez, the UFC lightweight champion, would face number-one contender Khabib Nurmagomedov.
All of those statements turned out to be completely false.
“This is the fight the fans wanted, and I’m excited that our very first event at Madison Square Garden will be headlined by Eddie Alvarez defending the lightweight title against Conor McGregor,” White told ESPN on a Tuesday edition of SportsCentre.
“This card has three world title fights and is the best card in UFC history.”
This marks McGregor’s third fight of the year and third fight outside of the featherweight division.
Unsurprisingly, the 28-year-old will enter the fight as champion, despite White’s previous insistence that he must defend his title or “make a decision to give it up.”
It’s abundantly clear that McGregor is never coming back to featherweight, and the gold belt is little more than a prop for the pay-per-view magnet. (Click to Tweet)
McGregor plans to make history, becoming the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC championships in two divisions, but that dream is completely handcuffing one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC.
The 145-pound class has been in a state of purgatory all year, with the top contenders anxiously waiting for McGregor to make a decision on the future of the championship.
One of the big factors behind the UFC’s growth into a combat sports powerhouse is, more often than not, the promotion urging champions to face the most qualified contender.
In an era of boxing that is built around behind-the-scenes drama and politicking, it’s refreshing to have a rival sport where the elite champions are in a constant state of vulnerability.
With McGregor now holding the record for two of the three most lucrative fights in mixed martial arts history, he has the power to force the UFC’s hand.
To his credit, the Irishman hasn’t abused his power to hand-pick easy matches, but he is making a habit of leaving egg on his boss’ face.
White is used to playing by a different set of rules, against far less savvy players. And as long as McGregor can still attract pay-per-view audiences in the millions, the bald-headed promoter better get used to asking – not telling – King Conor what his future entails.
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