Fair or not, Conor McGregor's fast track to a title shot just makes sense
If it wasn't already official, it is now: Conor McGregor is the UFC's new anointed one.
The charismatic Irish featherweight leads the race to fill the headline void left by the absence of pay-per-view stars Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.
UFC president Dana White hinted on the company's website late last week that McGregor is likely next in line for a featherweight title shot, following the winner of the Jose Aldo-Chad Mendes rematch in the main event of UFC 179 on Oct. 19.
According to White, McGregor, who is 4-0 in the UFC, will be considered for a title shot ahead of others because longtime champion Aldo has already defeated so many of the top contenders at 145 pounds.
"Here's the thing: If you go down the list, every one of those guys has fought Jose Aldo already," White told UFC.com on Thursday. "Conor hasn't. So who do you line up next for the champ other than Conor? Everybody else has fought him."
That's a technically accurate bit of pre-emptive deflection aimed at a pair of contenders, Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson, who are slated to main event a Nov. 22 card in Austin in what most assumed would be a No.-1 contender's fight. It's true Aldo beat Edgar via decision at UFC 156 less than two years ago. But Aldo's flash knockout of Swanson in the WEC in 2009 may as well be eons ago. Swanson has matured into his prime, winning six straight fights, and he has never had a crack at the title.
But then, superstardom in combat sports is about more than just wins and losses. The fighter needs to connect with fans in a visceral way. He or she needs to be in the right place at the right time. And the promoter backing the fighter has to have a gamble or two pay off along the way.
If McGregor does meet the Aldo-Mendes winner, it wouldn't be the first time the UFC has gone all-in on giving someone with big-money potential the fast-track treatment.
Brock Lesnar only had three professional fights under his belt and was 1-1 in the UFC when was matched up with heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 91. Lesnar, who brought a considerable pro wrestling fan base with him, knocked out Couture to win the title. He then proved to be a massive draw, and he headlined the biggest money event in UFC history the following summer at UFC 100, where he avenged a loss to Frank Mir.
Jon Jones, meanwhile, was already being earmarked as a potential future champion by the time 2011 rolled around. But he hadn't so much as been served as the co-headliner on a pay-per-view event before he was given a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title then held by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Jones, who got the shot on six weeks' notice when original challenger Rashad Evans had to drop out of the fight, went on to finish Rua to win the title. In his fourth year as champion, Jones is regarded as the sport's top pound-for-pound fighter.
The circumstances all differ with each individual fighter. No one's suggesting that McGregor vs. Aldo or Mendes will outdo Lesnar's buy rates, or that he'll surpass Jones on the pound-for-pound list any time soon.
But the evidence strongly suggests that fortune favors the bold. Ronda Rousey had to carry the weight of an entire sport on her shoulders when she ushered women's fighting into the UFC; she's handled the pressure with aplomb and become a mainstream name. Chris Weidman was thought to have gotten a shot at Anderson Silva too soon back in the summer of 2013; nowadays, he's the unbeaten middleweight champion whose popularity continues to grow.
Everything McGregor has done to this point indicates he can handle everything that comes his way. After a quick finish of Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut early last year, McGregor's undercard fight against Max Holloway in Boston in Aug. 2013 was heavily hyped. McGregor received a ring entrance usually reserved for headliners and went on to win.
After sitting out several months due to a knee injury, McGregor headlined a show in his hometown of Dublin. The event sold out in just four hours, and McGregor delivered in a big way, scoring a first-round TKO of Diego Brandao. Finally, at UFC 178, McGregor handled Dustin Poirier in under two minutes. His fight was the de facto main event both to fans in the arena and reporters afterwards, as McGregor starred in the post-fight press conference, while nominal headliners Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso were all but ignored.
Of course, while a potential McGregor title fight is a roll of the dice, even a defeat doesn't necessarily mean the end of a meteoric rise. St-Pierre was considered a hot prospect when he was rushed into his first title shot in 2004. At just 23, St-Pierre was 7-0 with two UFC fights under his belt when he met Matt Hughes at UFC 50 to fill the vacant welterweight title. He acquitted himself well in a competitive fight against a future Hall of Famer before tapping with one second left in the final round.
The loss proved only a momentary blip in GSP's ascent. Two years later, he defeated Hughes in a UFC 65 rematch to win the first of two titles. By the time he stepped away for a sabbatical late last year, he and Anderson Silva were the sport's biggest draws.
Of course, St-Pierre is popular because of his adherence to the martial arts codes of honor and respect, while McGregor has pushed forward as much with his mouth as anything else. Given his incessant boasting, McGregor is setting himself up for a bigger fall than GSP could have ever faced against Hughes.
But isn't that the appeal? Whether you want to see him win or hope someone finally shuts him up, you'll be watching, even the guy who immediately jumps to the comment section to claim that he won't. And that's why McGregor has been put on the fast track.
Follow Dave Doyle on Twitter: @DaveDoyleMMA
