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| Will Dana and the Fertittas go Mad King mode or make peace? |
The Notorious and The Unthinkable
I was all set to write a preview of Game of Thrones season
six when the unthinkable happened: Conor McGregor, the biggest star in the
history of MMA, the single biggest current fighter in the world in MMA or
boxing, decided to “retire”. Conor was
set to face Nate Diaz in a rematch of their epic and shocking battle at UFC
196, which Diaz won by choke in the second round after getting battered for
almost the entire duration of the bout to that point. The rematch was to be held at UFC 200, which
would have been a spectacle no matter what due to its nature as a centurial
event, but was set to be the biggest pay per view in UFC history because of
McGregor’s ascension, which seems to be unstoppable even in the face of
crushing defeat. Conor’s three previous
pay per views pulled in 825,000,
1,200,000, and 1,500,000
buys, ranking as the 17th, 3rd, and 2nd
most buys in UFC history, behind only UFC 100, when Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir
and GSP vs Thiago Alves drew 1.6 million buys.
Conor’s 3 PPVs are the 3 highest live
gates in UFC history. UFC 200 was
set to crush them all. Two million pay
per view buys seemed within the realm of possibility. Conor became the first fighter in UFC history
to earn a disclosed paycheck of one million dollars, before any pay per view
points were factored into his salary. He
was getting adulation from Mike Tyson; Canelo
Alvarez and Andre
Ward talked about watching his most recent fight; Vin
Diesel offered him a movie role. The
world was Conor’s, and then all of a sudden, he decided that he wanted no more.
Fast forward two days, and we see that it was all a rouse. His retirement tweet
literally broke the Internet. Kobe
Bryant’s retirement tweet was the most retweeted athlete retirement tweet of
2015 with 130k retweets; Conor’s retirement tweet got
165k retweets within 48 hours.
Today, as Conor wrote a lengthy Facebook post saying that he isn’t
retired but rather wants to concentrate on training rather than doing another
endless round of media, he restated his desire to fight on UFC 200 against Nate
Diaz. So far we have no confirmation
(minus an anonymous TMZ report) one way or another if the UFC will do the right
thing for their bottom line (and to not alienate their fan base), or if they
will be spiteful to make a point.
Las Vegas or Westeros
All this drama reminds me of Game of Thrones. Who would be the Westeros version of Dana
White? Tywin Lannister? No, Dana is not that clever. Joffrey Baratheon? No, Dana is not evil. Perhaps the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen; both
had a penchant for taking great pleasure in destroying their enemies, both were
successful rulers for a time, both went crazy, and both eventually angered
enough people to lead to a rebellion.
That rebellion in GOT was led by Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn,
and eventually the slippery Tywin Lannister, who had convinced the Mad King he
was there to help.
Burn Them All
Just as the Targaryens eventually pushed the people to
revolt, so too is Zuffa angering the great houses (famous fighters) and the huddled
masses (the fans). The flight of UFC
fighters to Bellator is an unintended consequence of the UFC’s shocking
disregard for their fighters’ financial well-being, as evidenced by the
terrible deal with Reebok. The UFC has,
since the demise of Pride, continually had a massive leverage advantage over
its fighters. Now, with the Reebok deal
in place, the UFC has banned outside sponsors, therein pilfering income from the
fighters, and making them more reliant on the UFC for their earnings. Now instead of fighters receiving six-figures
per fight from their various sponsors, they are allowed only what Reebok will
give them, paltry
sums ranging from 2500-40,000 per fight, the highest number reserved only
for champions. This leverage imbalance
is compounded by the UFC’s purchases of its competitors, namely Strikeforce,
Pride, and WEC; only Bellator remains afloat and out of the UFC’s pockets (and
likely will remain as such, as the UFC is currently fighting an antitrust
lawsuit and doesn’t want to veer into monopoly territory). The UFC keeps salaries low and awards discretionary
locker room bonuses to fighters who put on an exciting show; fighters are
told to take it or leave it. What can fighters do in this environment?
Conor Baratheon?
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| Robert felt about Lyanna as Conor feels about glory and money. |
When Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark, who was
engaged to Robert Baratheon, Robert didn’t just accept it; he started a war to
win her back. The odds were against him,
going against such a powerful dynasty, but he believed in his cause, and was
joined by other great houses, also wronged by the Mad King. When the UFC told Conor to do another round of media to hype his fight and he refused, threats were clearly made by the UFC. Conor didn't take it lying down; he announced his retirement on Twitter, and then passionately explained his side of the story after Dana claimed to be removing Conor from UFC 200. Conor McGregor is not yet looking for war
with the UFC (I use the word 'yet' because he clearly intends to become a
promoter after his fighting days are done; note that in his Facebook
missive, he wrote that he is “not yet” paid to promote fights, in a Little Finger-like message hinting at his true intentions), but is
rather seeking what he believes is justice, in getting back what is his and was wrongly taken from him.
He may have, however, overplayed his hand, and if the UFC denies his
request to fight at UFC 200, then a proper war could ensue. Conor posted a photo
of himself on Facebook tonight saying “your move” to the UFC; he is basically
daring them to either give in or tell him no.
If they don’t let him fight, there is no way of knowing what will happen
next. Conor might actually retire, the
UFC might sue him, and things will turn nasty in a hurry. Brace yourselves for Conor’s
Rebellion.
The Mother of Dragons and The Creator of Red Panty Nights
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| It isn't hard to figure out what the people want. |
A better analogy might be Conor as Daenarys Targaryen, who,
after taking Meereen, has to deal with the old, spiteful leaders of the great
city. Even though all appears peaceful
at times on the surface, the old guard hates Daenarys and plots her
demise. Daenarys stands for freedom for slaves, a
dangerous concept in a great city built on the back of slave labor. Daenarys sends the Unsullied to convince the
slaves of Meereen to free themselves in a classic scene. Similarly Conor stands for freedom for
fighters; it is no accident that following Conor’s rise to prominence, Aljamain
Sterling, Rory MacDonald, Ben Henderson, and Alistair Overeem have chosen to
fight out their contracts rather than going for the safety of negotiating a
lower salary before their current contracts expire. Conor’s ability to bypass the UFC and connect
directly with the customers, just as Khaleesi was able to bypass the masters of
Meereen and speak directly with the slaves, is a game changer. Further, just as Daenarys has something nobody
else has in the form of dragons, Conor has something no other UFC fighter has
ever had: leverage. The UFC is used to
getting its way, and controlling the message.
Because Conor has such a large fanbase and social media following, and
because Dana White is a part of the social media world, he can’t hide from the
blatant fact that all the fans want to see Conor fight, and will be incredibly
pissed off if their favorite fighter, the sport’s most compelling competitor,
is held off UFC 200 to make a point.
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