Written by Ricky Leone at MMA Manifesto
WAIT—THE UFC NEEDS TO BE SAVED?
On March 17th of every year, a bunch of people from all walks of life get drunk to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, which was very much like the scene this past Saturday night after UFC’s Irish star Conor McGregor knocked out pound-for-pound king José Aldo in just thirteen seconds to become the UFC’s Featherweight Champion, and cemented his place as the UFC’s #1 superstar. After nearly a year of build-up and drama which featured patriotism, injuries, withdrawals, espionage, impersonations, and other themes that ultimately made Aldo-McGregor one of the most legendary bouts in mixed martial arts history, the most desired effect possible occurred when McGregor scored the quickest knockout ever in a UFC championship bout. It could not have looked any more impressive. And it cannot have been against a more dominant fighter than José Aldo. In one punch, McGregor became the biggest star in mixed martial arts.
For the three co-owners of the UFC who sat ringside, something like this could not have come at a more apropos time. The title of “UFC’s #1 Superstar” was previously held by a young lady named Ronda Rousey, until she was knocked out cold last month by Holly Holm, who the UFC will now have to make a similar investment in as they did for Rousey—which will take time. The problem for the UFC was: they didn’t have time. The UFC is a mill that keeps turning, but never in this ownership’s history (from when Zuffa acquired the UFC in 2000), did they have a period where they were absent of a major superstar: a champion who is considered the best in the world at his or her weight class, who is charismatic enough to be invited to talk shows and be a public ambassador for the company, and who is good enough of a mixed martial artist to sustain their in-octagon success for a long period of time, and look impressive doing it.
Tito Ortiz was the superstar Zuffa inherited, but the one they initially preferred as UFC president and co-owner, Dana White, had a pre-existing business relationship with him as his former manager. When Ortiz started to make waves about being paid poorly, and was exploring the idea of fighting elsewhere, it couldn’t have come sooner when Chuck Liddell knocked out Ortiz to become the UFC’s Light Heavyweight Champion, and the UFC’s next big superstar. Liddell was low-maintenance, as he had a similar pre-existing relationship with White, but a stronger friendship which has stood the test of time. When Liddell eventually was knocked out by Quinton Jackson, that “#1 Superstar” title was passed to him, all-the-while a relatively low-key Canadian welterweight by the name of Georges St-Pierre was starting to dominate the UFC’s lowest weight class. As St-Pierre was becoming a bigger and bigger star, appealing to an otherwise untapped female market, a monster from the professional wrestling world named Brock Lesnar showed up and started brutalizing heavyweights, saving the whole division in the process. Both Lesnar and St-Pierre became the biggest superstars the UFC ever had, leading the promotion as it finally reached mainstream status in 2009. However, when Lesnar left in 2011, and St-Pierre stepped out in 2013, the UFC found themselves in a very vulnerable place.
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