Conor McGregor: UFC’s poster boy’s biggest fights
It’s been 30 years since The Ultimate Fighting Championship was established back in 1993, and what a history it has had. From creating some of the biggest names in history, who have come from nothing, to influencers-turned-fighters, MMA and its community has grown tenfold. Mixed Martial Arts itself has been around since the dawn of time. Flashback to the 33rd Olympiad in the year 648 BC, and you’ll see themes of fighting in various forms.
The mixed martial arts competition was catapulted into the scene for the masses in the USA by CV Productions in 1980, and ever since, MMA has turned into the most successful combat sport in the world. The goal of the tournaments is self-explanatory, with two fighters who have trained to the max, and who compete against one another in the Octagon.
The UFC fights are either three or five rounds, with regular fights being less, and championship tournaments lasting longer. Though it was first created as a spectacle and a company that hosted fights, UFC has taken the name and turned it into its sports phenomenon. On their thirtieth anniversary, we’re taking a gander at the UFC poster boy, Conor McGregor, and which fights have taken the cake for raking in the most watchers.
Khabib vs. McGregor
On the 6th of October 2018, Conor McGregor took Khabib Nurmagomedov in the Octagon for a drama-fuelled event. In what was classed as chaotic from start to finish, this was UFC’s most highly grossed and anticipated fight of the year. The buildup came nothing short of McGregor’s usual behavior, with the Irish superstar ripping into Khabib’s issues and life, and therefore riling Khabib up for an intense showdown.
The whole time McGregor abused Khabib in the lead-up to the fight, Khabib soaked it all up and stayed calm and collected. However, just before the final weigh-down, Khabib said that he would beat McGregor, and his bold claim meant that the fight was set for some huge UFC Odds that would give the bookies and their bettors plenty of wins. The fight didn’t manage to get to the fifth round, as Khabib got the submission on McGregor, leading to the Irishman tapping out in defeat – proving that McGregor’s behavior was all talk and no play.
The intensity didn’t stop there, as this pay-per-view fight was the biggest in UFC history. On average, the buy-ins from around the world tend to sit at around 1 million viewers, but this one grabbed a staggering 2.4 million PPV viewers. The loss for McGregor didn’t do too bad either, as he still walked away with a large amount of money. The fight itself brought in $180 million from the PPVs, and McGregor took $50 million as he was the A-side team. The champion, Khabib, took $6.6 million, seeing as he was on the “B” side, so this fight made history for many reasons.
To this day, it’s still one of the most talked about fights in history, as Dana White, the President of the UFC, has tried many times to bring these two back to the Octagon. Undoubtedly he’s offered millions to make this fight happen, but Khabib has repeatedly declined due to family reasons. I guess we’ll just mark this as the most iconic rivalry in history, and nothing will ever compare.
Poirier v McGregor
Anything McGregor touches turns to gold – literally! He currently holds 8 out of 10 fights in PPV history, proving that his celebrity status truly makes a mark in the world of UFC. In the second place for the biggest fight in UFC history is Justin Poirier vs Conor McGregor. The pay-per-view watchers raked in $120 million for the UFC, and this trilogy fight for the pair was on the 11th of July 2021. The Irishman turned to the ring against Poirier for the third time in the hopes of scraping the win, but in a Total Knockout, he fell to the ground with a broken leg. In a do-or-die moment, he sadly fell backward and snapped his leg, needing two years of intense training to get himself back ready for fighting in 2023.
Conor walked away from this fight with $23 million, whilst Poirier saw a healthy $5 million – so all eyes are on whether McGregor will be looking for the fourth fight this year, and if so, then bets are on that it’ll be even bigger than the top spot.
These two fights currently share the top and second spots for being the biggest in PPV history, and although they didn’t necessarily scoop McGregor the win, they prove that anything he does will be bringing the UFC buckets of money. He’s not the only UFC champion (check out Israel Adesanya, currently holding the middleweight crown), but the crowds are eagerly awaiting his return following his injuries, and all eyes are on 2024, when he is set to make some big fights happen. Watch this space.