Conor McGregor Is ‘Happy To Be Up There With Ronda’
The UFC needed some new superstars after a down 2014 where profits dropped significantly, so fortune turned in their favor when interim featherweight champ Conor McGregor and women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey ushered in a new era for MMA with 2015’s biggest pay-per-view events at UFC 189 and UFC 190, respectively.
That’s left both the ‘Notorious’ and ‘Rowdy’ with some huge bouts before the end of the momentous year, as the Irish superstar will finally face Jose Aldo in the main event of December 12’s UFC 194 four weeks after Rousey takes on Holy Holm in the main event of the UFC first-ever major stadium show at November 14’s UFC 194 from Melbourne, Australia.
It’s been a jam-packed 12 months that has each fighter on the precipice of true multimedia reach and exposure, although Rousey has an edge on McGregor due to her crossover appeal as a movie star in addition to a growing list of lucrative sponsorship deals.
She’s also finished off her opponents in even faster fashion than the unblemished UFC run of McGregor. While ‘Notorious’ may acknowledge this, he isn’t ready to give her the title of MMA’s biggest star just yet, telling FOX Sports that he and Rousey are alone at the top:
“Ronda’s just so dominant, and she’s slaughtering these women ruthlessly and maybe that’s why people feel that way. Really, I feel we are — both of us are — at the top of the game. She’s a special athlete and I’m a big fan and always have been.”
McGregor also touched on the interest in Rousey’s fights, which absolutely exploded during her 34-second knockout of Bethe Correia on August 1. He’s noticed how her popularity has rapidly grown, but also directed a bit of the attention back on his massively attended bouts:
“The interest for her fights is absolutely phenomenal as well as mine now,” McGregor said. “I’m happy to be up there with Ronda running the game.”
There’s never been another year in MMA where a pair of generational superstars has risen to the top so forcefully, and that’s resulting in a banner bounceback year for the UFC in 2015.
Does McGregor have a legitimate shot at overtaking fan favorite Rousey for the throne of MMA’s biggest star?
