Trading Shots: Downes, Fowlkes debate what to do with 'joker' Conor McGregor

In this week’s Trading Shots, retired UFC/WEC fighter Danny Downes joins MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes to discuss the UFC 179 main event, and where the “joker” Conor McGregor now stands in a featherweight class laden with talent.

* * * *

Downes: Well Ben, UFC 179 may have had its ups and downs, but nobody can deny that the main event delivered. Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes delivered the “Fight of the Night” and even squashed their beef. The only thing that people want to talk about, though, is Conor McGregor. When he wasn’t busy sipping tropical drinks with Dana White, the “Notorious” one was getting called out by any featherweight with a microphone (and probably also Phil Davis).

Not only that, it seems that fans and media alike wish Dennis Siver to come down with one of those mysterious knee injuries so McGregor can get the next title shot. Obviously McGregor’s stock and notoriety are huge right now, but he shouldn’t be given a title shot already. Should he?

Fowlkes: First of all, can we agree that the bro love between White and McGregor is getting a little out of hand? Seeing the boss so clearly in the tank for one guy gives off a little too much of a Kimbo Slice-Jared “$kala” Shaw vibe for my taste, and we all remember how that ended. Just try to imagine the UFC president sipping Doppelbocks with Siver, whom he’s put up in a fancy hotel suite after flying him halfway around the world. Ain’t no way, Danny, which kind of tells us what’s really going on with this McGregor-Siver pairing.

If McGregor wins that fight, and the UFC is obviously hoping he will, it’s title fight time. And on the off-chance that Siver wins? My guess is he’ll earn the honorable distinction of being “in the mix.”

That’s not a great look for a fight promoter. It makes you look like you’re playing favorites, which, clearly, you are. I understand why the UFC is so hot on McGregor – a glance at our website traffic confirms the man’s popularity, or at least his notoriety – but it seems like the quickest way to make him seem not so cool anymore is to make him out to be the teacher’s pet.

Of course, knowing McGregor, he’ll revel in that treatment so much that it will only make him more polarizing, which will in turn make him more popular, in the fight game sense of the word, which will ultimately make him more profitable for the UFC. I guess that’s how you get yourself a title shot after beating the No. 10 featherweight.

We could complain about this, from a pure sport perspective, but that requires pretending that MMA is something it’s not. This ain’t the NFL, Danny. It’s not even the pro tennis tour. Professional fighting has always been and will always be a little bit of a carnival. What it must not become is the circus. People must believe that the scales are still square, that the games may be tricky and not always fair, but also not straight-up rigged. That’s one of the great appeals of MMA for me, is the promise that for all the hype and promotional smoke and mirrors, the fight itself is the ultimate truth serum. All frauds are found out eventually.

If McGregor beats up on Siver, then gets smashed by Aldo, would that not be a weirdly satisfying morality play that justifies the booking in the first place? And even if you think he only got there thanks to special treatment from the UFC, wouldn’t there be some sadistic joy in seeing the boss’ pet mauled by a Brazilian rottweiler?

Downes: I understand your teacher’s pet complaints, but wouldn’t you be doing the same thing if you were White? The stars of yesteryear are fading or retired, and few of the new fighters have really established themselves. Then a charismatic Irishman appears out of nowhere and wows the masses. That’s worth at least a few umbrella drinks. What’s more, I don’t think it hurts his cool factor. The lines have been drawn already. You’re either on the McGregor hype train, or you complain that he’s “overrated.”

I understand the merits of a McGregor vs. Aldo title fight, but we have to remember that it’s not just about McGregor. There can only be one challenger at a time, and if McGregor is given the next shot, that means that every other featherweight has to wait. Let’s say Cub Swanson beats Frankie Edgar in November and McGregor still gets the next title shot. What’s the lesson to be learned here? What’s the difference between the carnival and the circus?

I’m a little torn here, Ben. I see the business and the marketing side of McGregor-Aldo, but it just doesn’t feel right. Does that make me a hater? McGregor certainly deserves a chance at the belt more than Chael Sonnen did against Jon Jones, but I don’t think that’s the metric we want to use. Having said that, it’s not like that fight ruined the sport. The MMA gods protected Jon Jones’ toe long enough for him to secure the first-round TKO. In this sport, the buildup can be more important than the actual fight. Sometimes you have to sell the sizzle and not the steak, right?

Fowlkes: True, but if the best thing we can say about a title fight is that it didn’t single-handedly bring down the organization that promoted it, I don’t know if that’s a formula we want to lean on. If I were a promoter looking for some way to justify vaulting McGregor ahead of either Swanson or Edgar, I guess I could go ahead and point out that Aldo has already beaten both those guys. Aren’t we always complaining about wanting to see new challenges and not just the same old rematches again and again? That leaves Dennis Bermudez and Ricardo Lamas, of course, but a) Aldo’s already beaten Lamas, too, and b) It wouldn’t kill Bermudez to win one more fight after that, just to solidify his claim to the top contender spot.

The point is, it feels like we’re reaching a critical mass with this McGregor situation. If he beats Siver  – and that matchup feels like one that came from the same exquisite tailor that makes those three-piece suits of his – he’ll have won five straight in the UFC. What’s more, he’ll be making the kind of money and drawing the sort of media attention that seems difficult to justify if he’s not fighting for the belt.

Whether you think he’s a fraud or a messiah, chances are you feel strongly in one direction or the other, which means you won’t want to miss a chance to find out if you’re right. And who better to test this guy than the champ?

What’s more, I don’t really see the downside to it. What, Swanson has to wait six more months to get another crack at the same guy who starched him in eight seconds? Edgar gets a slight reprieve before getting his legs kicked to shreds? Bermudez has a chance to get indignant about being overlooked, and also a chance to convince fans to agree with him? None of that seems so bad. And honestly, what would you prefer: seeing McGregor face his trial by combat a little sooner than expected, or be forced to hear him talk about his suits and his suites for another year while the UFC steers him clear of wrestlers who might double-leg the goose who lays the golden eggs?

Downes: Aldo did beat Swanson, but that was over five years ago. Mendes earned his rematch in just over two years, and I recall reading this piece about how it saved the entire card. Based on your last couple arguments right now, it seems like the reason you’re pushing for a McGregor title fight is that you don’t think he has staying power. You’re basically saying, “Let’s get this over with before the hype dies down!”

Pushing for a title fight because you’re worried that the fighter is bound to get exposed isn’t much of a reason to make a match. At least not from a member of the so-called media. It sounds like you want MMA to be a lot like pop music. Let’s squeeze as much as possible as quickly as possible. That type of thinking may work for boy bands, but I don’t think that’s the attitude we should promote in this sport.

The Conor McGregor Experience is still in full swing, but I wonder what the major takeaway from his popularity should be for other fighters. What can they learn from this? Should they trade in the sweatpants and T-shirts for three-piece suits? If you watch McGregor’s interviews, you can tell he has a few lines/catchphrases that he’s rehearsed. Is that the key? The UFC’s tagline is that “It’s as real as it gets,” but it feels like fans don’t really want that. They want a show. They want a personality. People never cared for Ben Askren until he started to speak his mind. Now the fact that he’s not in the UFC is a travesty. Maybe MMA isn’t a sport after all. Maybe it’s just entertainment.

Fowlkes: Why does it have to be one or the other? Why can’t we just admit that MMA is both sport and entertainment, with those competing concerns locked in a constant battle that neither can ever truly win?

Let’s be honest about what we have when it comes to McGregor. He’s a fighter whose popularity outstrips his accomplishments (at least for now), but also a fighter who proved, with his first-round TKO of Dustin Poirier, that he’s a legitimate top-10 featherweight. How else could we call a matchup with Siver a step down, unless we’re willing to admit that McGregor has proven that he belongs among the division’s top fighters?

I could see getting bent out of shape if he was some nobody who’d fought nobody, but he’s not. At the same time, it’s pretty clear that no one else in the division could earn a title shot with a win over Siver right now, so obviously his personality and popularity have a lot to do with it.

In other words, there’s more than one factor to consider here, and that’s fine with me. That’s the fight business. It’s not just about wins and losses, as you know. It’s also about convincing people to pay for the privilege of seeing you win or lose.

McGregor is undefeated in the UFC, so if he hasn’t done enough to earn a shot, it’s only because the UFC hasn’t yet given him the chance. Meanwhile, I doubt Bermudez or Swanson could get a room full of Brazilians so fired up with nothing but a microphone and a smile, and we’re kidding ourselves if we try to pretend that that doesn’t matter.

This business is about putting together fights that will get paying customers into the tent. Whether they’re there to find out once and for all who the best featherweight is, or simply there to see the cocky Irishman get his face smashed, it doesn’t make much of a difference.

As long as the fight itself is on the level, it will tell us who belonged there and who didn’t. And that satisfaction we get from the answer to the question? That’s part of what we’re paying for, regardless of how we got there.

For complete coverage of UFC 179, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who also writes for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.