Has Conor McGregor’s Act Grown Old?
Right after Anthony Pettis knocked out Stephen Thompson in the main of last night’s UFC Nashville, Conor McGregor made his thoughts known. There once was a time when that was the most important opinion, but there are signs McGregor’s shtick is growing old with many fans.
McGregor downplayed Pettis’ inclusion into an exclusive club by asking, ‘Who f***ing wants it?’ on Twitter:
That’s a great callout seemingly aimed at anyone and everyone.
Indeed, that’s the mantra McGregor certainly embodied during his meteoric rise to fame as the UFC’s biggest-ever star. His legendary rivalry with Nate Diaz and his 2015 war with Chad Mendes, for example, would never have happened if he wasn’t willing to take on any challenge on short notice.
Tough To Take It Seriously
But while that version of the Irish megastar’s callout had some weight behind it, the current version’s does not as of right now. For all his bravado, all his money, and all his fame, McGregor has only set foot in the cage once since November 2016. That was for his laughably one-sided loss to Khabib last year.
His inactivity coupled with his calling out for fights he never signs on seems to be wearing on fans. You could see it in the responses to his callout of Pettis last night. Granted, the reactions of random fans (and haters) online are hardly an accurate gauge of reality. The point is there’s growing sense of unrest and impatience amongst the entire MMA community, whether you love him or hate him.
Each and every one of McGregor’s moves was looked upon with anticipation. When he became UFC’s first simultaneous ‘champ champ’ in November 2016, things changed. At first, they changed slowly, like the wheels put in motion for McGregor’s lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. He took all of 2017 off to fight and lose to ‘Money,’ skyrocketing his star power as a result.
‘The Notorious’ came back to the UFC more than a year later at UFC 229 but was dominated by Khabib.
Outside-The-Cage Trouble
In the meantime, he was getting into all sorts of trouble outside the cage. One recalls him jumping the cage at a Bellator event and slapping a security guard. The outside-the-cage rumors were many, but McGregor actually got arrested for his infamous Brooklyn bus attack in April 2018 and for smashing a man’s cell phone in Miami Beach recently. In the grand scheme of pro athlete arrests, McGregor’s are relatively small. He can get past them by agreeing to a plea deal, paying fines and performing community service, at least for now.
But again, they could all point to cracks beginning to form for a larger downfall. Many remarked he was more interested in selling his booming Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey than actually winning a fight in his return last fall. At this point, it’s getting hard to argue with them. McGregor has gone 2-2 in his last four UFC fights; 2-3 in his last five if you count the Mayweather loss. Many do not. I can’t argue with that. Yet we’re going on two-and-a-half years since his last MMA win.
So much has changed in MMA since November 2016. Many were hyped when McGregor teased a high-profile fight with Donald Cerrone after “Cowboy’s” win in January. And deservedly so. But when that fight didn’t materialize and McGregor made following UFC main events or big wins about himself, fans began to cry wolf. Some even pointed out specifically that he had a process of calling out impressive winners to get the attention on him. It was supposedly his way to stay relevant while not actually winning.
Still The Biggest Star
Now, McGregor is deservedly still the UFC’s biggest star. He has burst into the mainstream, which few MMA fighters ever do. He’s the biggest name to ever do so as well. There’s a chance he could rebound and rise to the top again, yet as Marvin Hagler says, “It’s tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5 am when you’ve been sleeping in silk pajamas.” McGregor has undoubtedly been sleeping in silk pajamas.
He’s earned it, but in this fight game, you have to win to stay relevant, at least once in a while. McGregor has bought the patience of fans perhaps more than any other fighter ever. He’s still treading close to absolutely needing a win to keep hardcore fans interested. It remains to be seen how more casual fans will stay locked in his camp if he doesn’t fight and win with some frequency.
That’s why his predictable post-fight callouts are getting just that. Until he actually fights one of the names putting on those impressive performances, they’ll just be words. Of course, they want to fight him. There’s no bigger payday and at this point, many may see him as an easy match-up. He has to prove that’s not true in his post-Mayweather form, whatever that is.
So how much longer can MMA’s biggest name stay there without a win?
It could be a lot shorter than you would have thought a year ago.
