The Savage Truth: McGregor vs. UFC ‘Civil War’

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The thing about civil wars is that they rarely, if ever, are tied off completely, even when hostilities have subsided. It is usually an uneasy ceasefire that brings about the halt in open combat, followed by a whole lot of hurt feelings on both sides of the arbitrary border, more noticeably on the perceived losing side in most cases. The bad blood or festering wounds that sparked the conflict are generally still present, if not worse, after the parties have slugged it out. It takes a lot of time and good will to cool the boiling tempers and heal the ills that caused the feud to explode in the first place.

With Conor McGregor making his case on the ESPN “Sunday Conversation” with host Kenny Mayne over the weekend, it was interesting to hear McGregor couch the nature of his quarrel with the UFC as a “civil war.” Far be it from me to put any words in the featherweight champion’s mouth -- who knows how careful he was in choosing those words -- but it is hard to imagine all of the issues the Irishman had were dissolved over a single dinner with his employers.

There was a lot of money left on the table with UFC 200 rolling off the production line minus the company’s biggest star. Coming off their reported historic pay-per-view performance, it would have been a shocker if McGregor and Nate Diaz couldn’t have outpaced their first encounter at both the box office and at the PPV terminal. Something big was going on behind the scenes, and no matter how many times we were told the relationship was “fine,” the fact that McGregor was yanked off the marquee for not heading to Vegas for a presser and commercial shoot spoke volumes.

Now, we’ve heard McGregor’s side of the story, and despite the fact he says things are better -- note: better is not anywhere near great, or even good -- his biggest regret seems to be letting his emotions dictate his actions. It seemed that he was content with his decision to do something for himself rather than for his promoter in this instance -- you know, like he’d done “a million times” already.

So, where are we at now?

McGregor is still the biggest star in the sport, and the UFC is the only promotion in which he is going to be able to earn a living for the foreseeable future. I’ve heard a lot of pundits claiming one needs the other more, and the fans have been chiming in as well. I’ll tell you with certainty that this marriage of convenience is a relationship between parties that are as dependent on each other as any in combat sports.

If you subtract McGregor and Ronda Rousey’s PPV sales from the banner year that was 2015, you have a company that is trudging along in a similar trajectory as the previous few years: not bad, but not great. You add those figures into the equation and you’re talking about a company being valued at nearly $4 billion, with reports of multiple suitors lining up to either buy them or get in bed with them.

As for McGregor, he is in the midst of what he has called a $100 million contract that reportedly kicked in with the Diaz fight. Now, the UFC usually does at least six-fight deals and more likely eight when it comes to a fighter like McGregor. If he’s on the books for seven more tussles before he can work free from the UFC’s promotional orbit, then you can see why he would want to make nice as well.

We’ve heard all the rumors -- OK, nonsensical drivel -- about a potential matchup between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr.. The fact that McGregor’s contract would prohibit any real discussion of this happening seems to have fallen on mostly deaf ears. So, if the young Irishman wants to keep spending money like he’s a cartel kingpin, he is going to have to get back in the cage, and the only one he’s contractually allowed to compete in is the UFC’s Octagon.

McGregor refused to quell the talk of a potential Mayweather showdown in his ESPN interview. He claimed that Mayweather needed him more than he needed Mayweather. However comical that statement is, in my opinion, it shows that McGregor is not completely over his temper tantrum. He could have come clean and said he can’t fight due to his deal with the UFC, or that he would welcome a bout in the UFC’s cage, but he refused to set the possible fight aside and focus on returning to the sport in which he makes a living.

This is just something the promotion will have to get used to, because going forward, this monster is only going to get bigger. It is a strange catch-22 for the company: the bigger McGregor gets as a star and a brand, the better it is for their bottom line. The drawback is that he continues to command more and more individual leverage, something that the company doesn’t seem to enjoy giving up.

It was all fine and dandy when the biggest star was Rousey and she was happy to take what the UFC brass was dealing out. Now, with McGregor constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to pay and press commitments, it is a tricky situation to navigate.

April’s power play that put him on the shelf for UFC 200 was a heavy-handed attempt to let him know his place. McGregor’s initial response and follow-up this past weekend have given us a window into his team’s thought process as this fluid situation continues to evolve.

He is coming back to fight, it seems, but I wouldn’t expect to see a belligerent McGregor outright challenging the UFC anytime soon. The kid’s got some serious luxury habits to pay for. However, I also wouldn’t expect to find him toeing the company line at every opportunity either.

In other words, “The Notorious” will rise again.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or Twitter @TheSavageTruth. If you would like to have your question or comment answered in the weekly Postal Connections mailbag, please submit them by Wednesday evening each week.