UFC featherweight Conor McGregor had an outstanding debut at UFC on Fuel TV 9 where he knocked out Marcus Brimage in 1 minute and 7 seconds. Before his debut, McGregor had a lot of hype behind him and told the media, fans, the UFC, anyone who would listen that he was going to bring the UFC back to Ireland and sell the place out. Fast-forward to July 2014 and that is exactly what McGregor did.
The UFC is holding a “Fight Night” in Dublin, Ireland on July 19 in which McGregor is headlining the event. When the event was announced, McGregor told UFC President Dana White that the card would sell out quickly and it only took minutes for the O2 arena to sell out. Yes you are reading that correct; minutes! Connor McGregor has something special about him and UFC recognizes that. When McGregor fought Max Holloway at UFC on FOX Sports 1 in Boston he was on the undercard, part of the preliminary fight card. No one would ever know that when watching the event because unlike any other fighter in UFC history, when McGregor made is entrance through the TD Garden in Boston, the lights went completely out and the fans applauded as if they were watching the main event. I can not remember one other time in history that the UFC turned off the lights and completely dimmed the entire arena for a fighter on the undercard. Not to mention the fans in Boston on that August night cheered for McGregor as if he was fighting in a title fight or main event. Every fan was on their feet when McGregor came out of that tunnel.
Conor McGregor dresses the part wearing custom tailored suits, Prada sunglasses and watches that cost more then most peoples cars. He talks the part calling out every fighter in the division from featherweight champion Jose Aldo, number one contender Chad Mendes to number two ranked Cub Swanson. McGregor is the new Chael Sonnen when it comes to using his mouth to get fights and promote them. However, unlike Sonnen, McGregor can sell out an arena in his home country in a matter of minutes. It is very rare to see a fighter in the UFC headlining an event after only fighting twice inside the UFC octagon, it is even more rare for that fighter to fly to Vegas and drive around with President Dana White in his Ferrari.
The UFC sees that McGregor has something special about him and they will use him to sell out arena’s, sell tickets, promote events and become the next superstar in the UFC. Whether you love him, hate him or just want to see him get his butt whooped, he will drive ticket sales and viewership numbers through the roof. Conor is a master of self-promotion and with him only being 26 years old, the future is bright for this young mixed martial artists.