Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Conor McGregor. His victory against Chad Mendes on Saturday has ensured big business for the UFC in the future.
At UFC 189, McGregor answered questions about how he would fare against a wrestler by blitzing Mendes with a late second-round stoppage from strikes. It earned the Irishman, who fought in front of a Las Vegas crowd filled with feisty Irish fans, the interim featherweight title and seemingly brings him to the biggest fight of his career.
It may also be the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, let alone McGregor's career.
Yes, you read that correctly. Aldo versus McGregor is the biggest fight in the history of the UFC. You take arguably the most dominant champion in the UFC in Aldo, who has not really been a great box office draw, and put him up against McGregor, a box office attraction with tons of heat behind him, mainstream appeal and the personality to make extra pay-per-view sales.
You may be disputing that this will be the biggest fight in UFC history, but take this walk with me. There are plenty of reasons why this will be.
First off, the UFC has already invested heavily into this match in terms of monetary output. The build up to this fight saw no expense spared, from a world tour to massive amounts of advertising.
The UFC knows this is an easy fight to promote because of the animosity and power of McGregor's words. The Irishman is a star that is rapidly ascending into the mainstream.
Not only that, but Aldo's exit from UFC 189 and his consequent replacement, Mendes, should have seen UFC take a major hit in terms of traffic and buys. However, live attendance was still incredible, and you can guarantee the number of buys on this card will be impressive.
And that is with Mendes, who is not as marketable as Aldo, especially when combined with McGregor.
That's where the Aldo injury debacle comes in. It deprived us of the main event we truly desired and will undoubtedly be used in the buildup to the eventual throwdown.
There have been questions on the validity of the injury and whether Aldo could have fought. As negative as that can be perceived, it does add interest to the fight, which will obviously be used to build up the pay-per-view.
Then, there's the issue of two belts right now. Aldo is the champion; McGregor is the interim champion. That makes this an even easier sell to the public.
Dana White: Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor will take place in Las Vegas https://t.co/3MONJB6WyQ via @mmajunkie
— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) July 12, 2015
Add to the insane fanbase in each man's corner. McGregor has his Irish contingent, who we have seen are a rowdy bunch of people reminiscent of old-school soccer hooligans. It's refreshing yet rambunctious.
Then you have Aldo, backed by the emotional and passionate Brazilian fans who are just as nuts as the Irish. The dueling chants, national anticipation and sheer insanity will make the main event even more successful.
This will be in Las Vegas. People will fly in from all over the world to spectate this matchup.
It will be built up, talked about and speculated on from now until it finally happens. That will lead to a massive gate, huge pay-per-view numbers and a spot in the history book as the biggest fight in UFC history.
