Conor McGregor can take UFC to new heights if Dana White gets out of the way
Taking away belts and needlessly exercising power over superstar fighters will only slow the growth of the sport
By
Bill Reiter
•
4 min read
There's a new reality that Dana White needs to get his mind around as he and Conor McGregor begin a stare down over exactly who McGregor fights next, and who should and will have the power to make that decision.
So to the president of UFC, a guy I like and respect, I say this: This is Conor's company now. He is -- at least for the time being -- the most important person in UFC. Get out of the way.
This is not a knock at Dana or meant to be provocative or petulant. UFC has operated as a totalitarian state in its remarkable run from an afterthought to a $4 billion company. White's way was the only alternative to the highway. You fought who, when, where and if White and UFC wanted.
That ironclad approach helped White and his partners carve out of MMA a company that is now an indispensable part of our sports landscape. That fact was crystal clear Saturday in Las Vegas when McGregor and Nate Diaz, in a second showdown, put on the most mesmerizing fight in UFC history.
UFC 202 -- and really, just McGregor-Diaz 2 -- offered up a record $3 million payday for McGregor. Diaz may have lost a majority decision by the thinnest of margins, but he took home $2 million. The fight logged the fifth-highest gate in UFC history with $7,692,010 and wholly captivated the sports world.
No wonder, then, that McGregor quickly said he'd fight Diaz again, but only on his terms. And that Diaz by the end of the night had already committed to doing so at 155 pounds. There is money, greatness and the world's attention to be gained by McGregor-Diaz The Trilogy.
Then Dana White pulled a Dana White. And thus the UFC, following the course it has set from the beginning, asserted itself over two fighters who had dared try to dictate their own terms.
"We're definitely not doing this a third time right now," White told TMZ. "Conor's either gonna go defend his title or give his title up. Then we'll figure out where we go from there."
White has reiterated this, and said McGregor can either defend his title at 145 (it's been nearly a year since he last did so) or abandon the belt and go to 155 to fight Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.
McGregor, still bloodied and bruised shortly after this epic bout with Diaz, saw all of this coming.
"S---'s about to hit the fan, I feel," he said from T-Mobile Arena. "So we'll see."
It will hit the fan because under White's guidance and stubborn willpower, UFC has become a behemoth that's so big that its own creations are going to now frustrate it. Even turn on it. That's the mark of success.
There's power, and money, in building a brand and ensuring the brand comes first. But eventually, if you truly create something transcendent and lasting, there will and must be a Frankenstein effect. The company you made will create things you can't control, and they will take on a life of their own. You fight that at your own peril.
ESPN has experienced this dilemma, first putting the brand ahead of talent and trying to thwart McGregor-like rebels, then watching as the sports world it created took on a life of its own. Big-time talent grew frustrated, left, helping create all those other options at least partly contributing to the cord-cutting hurting the former World Wide Leader.
AMC went through this, too, and adjusted brilliantly, shifting from focusing on movie classics to creating original television content that became expensive and unruly but widely successful. They created Matthew Weiner, but he created "Mad Men" -- and that meant, when they found themselves at odds, Weiner won.
AMC gave in to Weiner's demands so "Mad Men" could go on with him. Which helped everyone, even the network that gave in. Now they're a television force.
It is now time for White to let the thing he created take on a life of its own, despite the frustration, anger and face it will cost him. Raising children is hard, and if UFC is truly his baby, then White would be wise to see it's not a child any longer. Holding on too tight will only damage it ... and him.
White needs to let McGregor take control of his company's most important next step, at least for the time being. Let him dictate his fights. Let him choose his next opponent -- even if that's Diaz. Let him spout off, run that mouth, annoy every other fighter on earth, even skip a media event or two. Let him drive UFC officials crazy and act like a resounding and self-entitled Irish brat. And watch the money roll in.
McGregor's time in the sun won't last forever, and someday it'll be another fighter White has to acquiesce before. If he's lucky. That's the price, and sign, of having made it. The NBA understood it with Magic and Bird, and then even more demonstrably with Jordan: The next big jump in growing your game is letting a select few of its faces take center stage. Even though, as with Jordan, that will transfer them incredible power, and they'll rule the roost however long they build the brand.
So forget the threats of taking away belts. Forget demands that have nothing to do with any fights that don't include Diaz. McGregor is the biggest star in this sport. He is capable of being one of the biggest stars in sports, period. Dana White made this possible. Now let's hope his own ego doesn't get in the way.
