The Bottom Line: Conor McGregor’s Surreal Rise

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Stories like this just don’t happen in sports. From the moment Conor McGregor burst onto the Ultimate Fighting Championship scene, he was making audacious proclamations about what he would accomplish. Few took him seriously. That’s not a knock on his skills, as he was clearly a talented fighter. It’s just that his trash talking was so bold and so over-the-top that it seemed impossible he could accomplish all that he promised.

Yet here we are, less than three years later. McGregor is the undisputed UFC featherweight champion. He ended the 10-year winning streak of the greatest fighter in the history of his division by knocking him out cold in 13 seconds, in front of thousands of his countrymen who practically took over Las Vegas. It’s like some sort of bizarre dream from which we collectively haven’t woken up. McGregor did it. It’s like he willed that reality into being. We may never see anything like it again in MMA.

The UFC often gets so caught up in hyperbole that there’s a natural skepticism to the obsequious praise of its top fighters. When Ronda Rousey fell to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November, it led to mockery of some of the things the UFC was saying about Rousey leading into the fight. As such, there’s an inclination to pull back on excessive glorification of the McGregor story. Some of the fawning over McGregor has indeed been embarrassing. However, there’s just no way to cover this story without acknowledging how remarkable it is. This man talked himself up more than any other fighter in the history of the sport, and then he backed every word of it up.

The talking itself was notable enough. It’s what made McGregor a star. Some combat sports fans love brash and cocky fighters. Other fans love to hate those fighters. Either way, those fighters generate interest. They don’t have to win all of their fights to capture the public’s imagination. Chael Sonnen fell short in title fights against Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, but his career will be well-remembered because he did so much with his talking to make his fights feel like big events. Michael Bisping has consistently captured fan interest for nearly a decade despite not making it to the championship opportunity he cherishes.

There aren’t many fighters who make emphatic declarations about what they’re going to accomplish early in their careers, and it’s understandable why. It may build up the fight, but nobody wants to be humiliated. The fighter who talks a big game and then falls flat on his face sets himself up for public scorn and ridicule. The pressure builds to perform. Thus, McGregor was an extreme rarity in the way he spoke about what he would do. There are few fighters who do that. To do that and to also be good enough to accomplish what you say you will is an exceptionally rare combination.

This isn’t pro wrestling. The promoter can’t pick out the most charismatic, marketable talker and simply book that guy to win all of his matches. There can be some degree of protection, like Pride Fighting Championships did with Wanderlei Silva or Mirko Filipovic. The UFC did this with McGregor, too. Dennis Siver was picked as his pre-title-shot opponent specifically because it was perceived to be a favorable matchup. However, McGregor ultimately had to fight and defeat championship-level opponents. Aldo and Chad Mendes were massive steps up from Siver and Diego Brandao. McGregor just kept rolling like they weren’t.

Moving forward, the magic will presumably come to an end. McGregor’s stated objective of winning titles in two weight classes and defending them simultaneously certainly seems unrealistic. The 155-pound division is one of the deepest and most talented in the sport, and McGregor’s power may not translate against larger opponents. The two fighters most likely to be his next opponent, Frankie Edgar and Donald Cerrone, each present formidable and unique challenges for the Irishman.

There are also the significant added distractions that come with success. A major contractual fight with UFC could be one. McGregor loves to spend money, and the money will flow in. Movie offers and major brand sponsorships are likely. There’s also the pressure that comes with having an entire nation on your back -- a constituency that you must service. These are significant issues even when you don’t have a gang of hungry, highly talented fighters targeting you as their big opportunity, like Holm with the assistance of Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn targeted Rousey.

The obstacles may be many, but in a sense, that doesn’t even matter. McGregor set out to achieve an improbable goal. He told everyone who would listen that he would do it. He then accomplished that goal more quickly and spectacularly than could have been imagined. In the Hollywood movie, the final scene has already been filmed. It’s hard to imagine that an even bigger crescendo is still coming. Then again, what happened at UFC 194 on Saturday still feels vaguely unimaginable even after it already happened.