Opinion: MMA’s Golden Geese

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

It was an electric scene on Dec. 8, 2007, as the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was rocking. A seemingly overwhelming sea of fans from the United Kingdom filled up the arena with chants of “Hatton Wonderland,” as they tirelessly rooted for their guy, the then-unbeaten Ricky Hatton, and vehemently jeered the undefeated pound-for-pound king of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The British had literally taken over just about every aspect of the Las Vegas Strip. Chants didn’t just shower the arena; they hovered over the casino floor and could be heard from every corner of the venue.

As a member of the working press, it was arguably the most uproarious scene I’ve ever been a part of. Unfortunately for the Brits, Mayweather flattened Hatton in the 10th round and sent them home unhappy. However, the impression that event left on the boxing world was undeniable and hasn’t quite been matched since, regardless of how big Mayweather’s subsequent fights turned out to be. It was the first big fight “Money” had appeared in since his record-breaking showdown with Oscar De La Hoya, and his bout with Hatton brought in 900,000 pay-per-view-buys and a gate take of $10.3 million.

Eight years later, a similar scene erupted at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Conor McGregor was the fan favorite against MMA’s arguable pound-for-pound king, Jose Aldo. This time, the Irish took over the city of Las Vegas and created a scene the mixed martial arts world had yet to experience. Once again, the chants of “Ole’” and “McGregor Wonderland” filled up the arena as the merry Irish seemingly outnumbered American and Brazilian fight fans. The energy was comparable to a high-level soccer match, as the Irish spilled onto the Vegas Strip, their takeover well-documented in the media.

Once again covering the fight from ringside, the similarities between UFC 194 on Saturday and Mayweather-Hatton in 2007 were eerily similar. Like Hatton, McGregor was so immensely over with the fans that the betting lines were closer than expected. Interestingly enough, the gate for UFC 194 hit $10.1 million, and the PPV buys will likely eclipse the one million mark and threaten the record-high of 1.6 million that UFC 100 established.

This time, however, the man for whom the Irish rooted wasn’t all hype. McGregor ended Aldo’s decade-long undefeated reign in 13 seconds with one frighteningly well-placed punch. The arena came unglued as beer showered the floor and orange, white and green flags waved in the air. It was a memorable night with an equally memorable finish, and it left me with a feeling I haven’t felt since Mayweather-Hatton. Leaving the arena amidst the fallout smattering of fight fans still staggering through the casino, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Ultimate Fighting Championship had finally had it’s pop-culture mega-event moment and finally caught up to its pugilistic counterpart in terms of mainstream magic.

For years, boxing has long been the premier attraction when it comes to combat sports. When you talk about a big pop-culture event that absorbs the masses, you think about The Grammys, the Super Bowl, the Oscars and a prizefight. It all came to a climax this year when Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao collided and subsequently destroyed every record in the book. A $72 million gate and 4.4 million pay-per-views proved boxing wasn’t a niche sport. It was part of popular culture. However, with the stench of the actual fight and the subsequent retirements of Mayweather and Pacquiao looming, boxing was struggling to find its next crossover star.

Meanwhile, the UFC had struck gold with the barrier-breaking Ronda Rousey. After making her pro debut in 2011, Rousey has taken popular culture by the horns and steered it into the Octagon. She kicked down the doors for women to fight in the UFC and has since become a mainstream juggernaut. Regardless of how bad she fell to Holly Holm at UFC 193, what Rousey created was a bridge between the diehard MMA fan and the casual sports fan who is only interested in the big event.

The sliver-tongued McGregor has only built upon Rousey’s momentum by understanding the delicate balance between marketing and MMA manslaughter. He’s become Chael Sonnen with skills, a pro wrestler with a real-life persona, the Irish Muhammad Ali with four-ounce gloves and, quite simply, must-see television. With boxing grasping at straws to find a star that appeals to the masses while leaving an inordinate amount of destruction in the ring -- Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez are clearly the sport’s next big stars -- MMA has found its golden geese.

If you look at the numbers, the gap between MMA and boxing is narrowing fast; and if you eliminate this year’s monstrous showing for Mayweather-Pacquiao, boxing has struggled to be a hit with the masses. Despite its strong showing of 900,000 PPV buys and a gate of $12.5 million, the fight between Alvarez and Miguel Cotto simply lacked the big-fight buzz some anticipated. Perhaps it was the Mayweather-Pacquiao hangover or the lack of noteworthy promotion, with “Canelo” not speaking English and Cotto unwilling to do interviews. Either way, it wasn’t the runaway smash some hoped it would be; and considering I was ringside for this encounter, I can tell you that the buzz wasn’t even close to UFC 194 or UFC 189.

Mayweather’s supposed swan song against Andre Berto drew lukewarm results -- 400,000 PPV buys -- and Golovkin’s pay-per-view debut fell flat with 150,000 buys. Meanwhile, the UFC has had a remarkably strong year with the following events:

• UFC 182: Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier | 800,000
• UFC 189: McGregor-Chad Mendes | 825,000
• UFC 190: Rousey-Bethe Correia | 900,000
• UFC 193: Rousey-Holm | 1.1 million

Once Jones makes his highly anticipated return to the cage, the UFC will have at least three fighters with exceptional drawing power in McGregor, Rousey and Jones; and if UFC 200 is frontloaded with fights from all three, you can bet your bottom dollar that the event scheduled to take place in Las Vegas’ new arena on July 9 will smash the promotion’s previous PPV record.

Calling McGregor and Rousey MMA’s version of Mayweather and Pacquiao may not be too farfetched, regardless of gender and weight class. They are ushering the sport to new heights and becoming pop-culture lures. No longer is boxing the biggest star in the sky when it comes to creating monumental and memorable events, because the UFC has finally figured out how to permeate into the mainstream as the epicenter of combat sports.

Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.