Exactly five years ago, the highest-grossing fight in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA) took place in Las Vegas ). In the main event of the 229th edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov forced Irishman Conor McGregor to surrender in the fourth round and defended his lightweight belt for the first time. The Sport correspondent states with nostalgic sadness: we will not see such superfights in the coming years.
They had been waiting for that fight for a very long time
Fans immediately bought tickets to the T-Mobile arena, and tens of millions of spectators (many were far from MMA) went crazy in front of their television screens. The world's main promotion set records for fight revenue ($86.4 million) and pay-per-view (PPV) sales.
To cover the 2.4 million PPV figure, the UFC management and other large organizations will have to jump out of their pants.
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"This (the most significant moment in my professional career — editor's note) happened on October 6, 2018. The biggest fight in MMA history and I'm very glad I won it. “I couldn’t afford to lose,” Nurmagomedov admitted at the official induction ceremony into the UFC Hall of Fame.
What factors influenced the crazy audience interest in the meeting between «The Eagle» and «The Notorious»?
We will try to answer in detail
- The two main MMA stars (judging by the number of subscribers). They remain so to this day, even though Khabib has been retired from the sport for three years now, and Conor has remained outside the cage since July 2021;
- Khabib has no defeats. 26-0 in the opponent’s professional record is additional motivation and intrigue for Conor. Will Nurmagomedov keep a zero in the “defeat” column or not?
- Different styles. Elite striker McGregor versus one of the best fighters in MMA history, Khabib. There were few options: either the Irishman would “get” his opponent with a punch, or he would be beaten on the ground after wiping the octagon with his body;
- The best moment of the meeting for both fighters. Khabib is at his peak, and Conor, although he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match, was still returning after becoming the first champion in UFC history in two weight categories;
- Sincere hatred of fighters for each other. Nurmagomedov called McGregor a “chicken” and “pressed” Conor’s former friend Artem Lobov in the lobby of a New York hotel. “The Notorious,” in addition to insults, touched upon topics that were taboo for many, family and religion… And he turned to crime.
- Attack with a cart on bus with Khabib. It all happened before the UFC 223 tournament, where the Russian became the champion. Conor, enraged after Nurmagomedov’s conversation with Lobov, launched a real attack on the bus with the event participants. Glass was flying from the windows of the transport, dozens of the Irishman's comrades were rushing towards Khabib… Then the attackers disappeared. Conor was taken into custody, but was soon released on bail.
- McGregor's trash talk. The point follows from the previous one: a tipsy McGregor at a gloomy press conference a month before the fight and his attacks against the champion, who radiated calm, left no one indifferent. Some were fascinated by the Irishman’s anger, while others were indignant and wished Conor failure;
- Khabib’s conflict with Timati. Nurmagomedov criticized the organization of a concert by Yegor Creed (then part of the rapper's label — editor's note) in Dagestan and split the country into two camps. Some supported the message of the MMA fighter, while others, on the contrary, stood up for the artists and encouraged the athlete to mind his own business. The news feed was burning right up to the fight;
- A defining moment for the UFC. Either McGregor wins and leaves the rest of the contenders for the title of the main star of the promotion out of work. Either Dana White's league gets a new asset that can eclipse the project to promote the flagship Irishman;
- Clash of East and West. The fighting meeting between a deeply religious Muslim and a trash talker showman is not only a sporting confrontation… A real confrontation of philosophies.
The fight did not disappoint.. .
…and completely lived up to expectations. The first boring round gave way to Conor's knockdown in the second, boxing in the third and a five-minute finish in the fourth. McGregor's «cardio» dropped to zero, so Khabib once again overpowered the Irishman and, taking his neck, forced his opponent to give up from terrible pain in his clenched jaw.
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And then there was that very brawl, which did not overshadow, but certainly cubed the hype around the Russian-Irish enmity. Which does not stop until 2023: Conor first challenged Khabib to a second fight by all means, and then, after “Eagle” retired, he began to throw mud at the legacy of the hated Russian.
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"Yes, he was good, but not great. Low percentage of knockouts. He couldn't kick. Never moved up to another division, despite almost dying during a weight cut. He dropped out of fights many times. He retired early. <…> I have never failed a weight cut or pulled out of a fight. And in the process, he moved the featherweight division, scoring the fastest knockout in fights for the UFC title. I've been moving up in weight, my legacy is not yet complete. His legacy has come to an end,” — this is how the Irishman saw off Khabib to retire.
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In the five years since the high-profile showdown in Sin City, the UFC has not come even close to UFC 229 indicators. The fights below were based on the name of Conor and the fleeting, incomparable hype of the second partner in the “dance”:
- UFC 264/Dustin Poirier — MCGREGOR III (1.8 million PPV);
- UFC 202/Nate Diaz — MCGREGOR II (1.65 million);
- UFC 257/Poirier — MCGREGOR II (1.6 million);
- UFC 246/MCGREGOR — Donald «Cowboy» Cerrone (1.4 million);
- UFC 196/MCGREGOR — Diaz (1.3 million ).
Let's look at the factors mentioned above, compare them with the statistics given and come to the conclusion that the events of October 2018 were unique. And unique. The way the stars aligned was amazing luck for the sports industry. And we don’t expect a repeat of the banquet, given the absence of the same bright stars and confrontations.
But we still believe in the best.
The author’s opinion may differ from the position of the editors.