Trading Shots: Conor McGregor has power, money and 2 UFC belts. Now what?

Conor McGregor made history with his win at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, but will that battle prove to be a preamble to a much bigger war? MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes joins retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes to discuss the topic in this week’s Trading Shots.

Fowlkes: Well Danny, the man who predicts dees tings was right again. After using his left hand as a stop sign every time Eddie Alvarez (28-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) took a forward step, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) scored a second-round TKO win and became the first fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes. He hasn’t defended either one yet, but hey, those are just details.

The question I have is where we go from here, because it seems to me like a major clash is brewing. UFC President Dana White has said McGregor will have to part with one of his belts, but McGregor doesn’t exactly seem enamored with that idea. He wants to take time off, but the UFC could use his help between now and June. In Khabib Nurmagomedov we have a worthy lightweight contender demanding his shot (to say nothing of Tony Ferguson), but McGregor says he’s not fighting again until he has an equity stake in the UFC.

That’s a powder keg of conflicting interests right there. Am I crazy for thinking that the UFC has gotten itself in a position where it can’t really tell McGregor no, and yet kind of has to turn down at least one of his demands? Or is this the point where McGregor changes the whole freaking game and sets a new benchmark for every other fighter to aim for?

Downes: You’re such a pessimist sometimes. McGregor makes history, and less than 24 hours later, you’re all doom and gloom. So what if we have two headstrong personalities who think “compromise” is a dirty word? It’s not like they’ll escalate the situation and refuse to back down even to their mutual detriment.

Actually, now that I think about it, you might be on to something. The UFC does not like to cede power to the athletes. The brand has always been of the utmost importance. That’s why McGregor was pulled from UFC 200. It may have been a hit in the short term, but in the long term, it was in the UFC’s best interest to not set a precedent. If one rebel gets his way, more tend to appear.

But now it’s getting difficult to call McGregor’s bluffs. His influence and power have grown. More importantly, he knows his value. Before it was all in the abstract. “Mystic Mac” has numbers now. All week he was quoting figures from a WME-IMG investor document obtained by MMAjunkie’s Steven Marrocco and some other guy. McGregor has proof of his worth to the company, and now he wants his cut.

If there’s one thing we know about this man, it’s that he doesn’t think small. Guy Fieri technically owns a stake in the UFC, and it only set him back $250,000. I would hazard a guess that McGregor wants a little more say than the guy from “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” What does that really entail? I don’t have any idea.

I do think that McGregor has been emboldened enough to sit out as long as necessary. The UFC relies on the fact that fighters need it. Meaning that a lot of fighter protests and uprisings usually fall short because fighters need money – or they derive their self-worth from being a part of the UFC. Neither factor will compel McGregor back into action.

What do you think will be the first casualty in the inevitable McGregor vs. UFC standoff? Is he the first fighter who the UFC needs more than he needs it? Aren’t you secretly excited to see McGregor “stick it to the man?”

Fowlkes: Secretly excited? Maybe, until I start thinking about guys like Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, or even Jose Aldo and Nate Diaz. They all have a claim to a fight with McGregor, or at least some of the hardware he’s carrying around on his shoulders. What’s going to happen to them if he digs in for a war of financial attrition with the UFC?

The answer is that McGregor doesn’t care, which I understand to some extent. This is a selfish sport. And you know Nurmagomedov wouldn’t be worried about making sure the Irish “chicken” got his due if the roles were reversed. At the same time, McGregor’s grand gestures have a way of knocking over a lot of the furniture in this sport.

Sometimes that’s a positive. Seeing a fighter who knows his worth and is willing to battle the bosses for an equitable share, that does my heart good after so many years of superstars who forgot the struggle the minute the UFC threw its finely tailored arm around them and told them not to worry about anything, kid, because you’re going to be a star.

On the other hand, how are you going to claim two titles in two of the most competitive divisions around, then slip off into fatherhood without defending either? How is the UFC not supposed to strip you of one or both? And if that happens, how are fans not supposed to look at whoever wins those titles as an off-brand placeholder?

I’m torn, Danny. In some ways, this feels like a necessary battle, and who better to fight it than McGregor, who’s already made history inside the cage and now seems poised to make it outside as well? At the same time, I wonder how we’ll feel nine months from now if he’s off changing diapers and arguing over ownership shares while we long for the good old days when UFC events were can’t-miss TV that captured the attention of millions.

Downes: I have similar concerns as to McGregor’s responsibility to the fans and to the sport in general. Innocents are hurt in every war, and World War McG will be no different. Contenders in both the featherweight and lightweight divisions will be impacted. We’ve already seen Nurmagomedov and Aldo’s discontent with McGregor running roughshod. Do those feelings start to metastasize to other parts of the UFC body?

I want McGregor to use his power for good. With great marketing power comes great responsibility. He has the leverage to create a lot of gains for all the fighters. At the same time, why should he?

But then, as people make comparisons to Muhammad Ali, the important thing to remember is that Ali stood for something. He was more than a boxer. What does McGregor stand for other than Rolls Royces and making money?

Whatever the future conflict between the UFC and McGregor looks like, I hope we can all keep perspective. Every time an athlete in one of the major sports has a contractual holdout, the inevitable “spoiled brat” narrative takes shape. He makes millions for just playing a game, and he wants more!?

It’s not just fans, either. As McGregor holds out for an extra million, you know some UFC fighter will call him a “coward” and promise to fight for a fraction of the price.

For a variety of reasons, I’ve been thinking of George Orwell lately. He once said, “Progress is not an illusion; it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.” McGregor hasn’t disappointed as an athlete or a promoter. Hopefully he doesn’t disappoint in his new role as the most powerful MMA fighter ever. And hopefully we keep up our end of the bargain, too.

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