IT MAY only have been a fleeting highlight clip, but the presence of Conor
McGregor during the BBC’s annual Sports Personality of the Year broadcast on
Sunday night can’t be underestimated.
In short, the sport of MMA is finally beginning to break through on this side
of the pond.
The fanbase has always been there – ticket sales whenever the UFC lands on
these shores can attest to that – but established media coverage has been
somewhat slower on the uptake, as the sport has struggled to take that extra
step towards mainstream recognition.
But now the sport, led by the UFC, could be about to break through that glass
ceiling and take a big step forward here in the UK and the recent success of
Conor McGregor could prove to be just the catalyst the sport needs on this
side of the pond.
The Irishman already seems to have the backing and recognition of his own
nation. But the positive effects of McGregor’s successes are beginning to
carry over the Irish Sea to Great Britain.
McGregor’s personality already created headlines within the MMA world, but
following his
jaw-dropping 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194, the Dubliner
moved into ‘Ronda Rousey’ territory.
That is, McGregor’s achievements have gone beyond simply that of a fighter who
wins bouts at the highest level.
This time last week stunned the world by knocking out in 13 seconds.
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc)
Finishing the world’s No.1 pound-for-pound fighter would have generated
headlines within the sport, but to break out of that oft-referenced ‘MMA
bubble’ and break into the mainstream he had to do it in remarkable,
spectacular and eye-catching fashion.
Rousey’s 14-second finish of Cat Zingano, 16-second TKO of Alexis Davis and
34-second KO of Bethe Correia helped build her aura as a superstar fighter.
Now McGregor is making similar moves.
By starching Aldo with his first punch in anger (his second of the fight), he
did just that. And to top it all off he predicted it, just as he predicted
his second-round TKO of Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
His wins have become more than a headline. Now they’re water-cooler moments –
on both sides of the Atlantic – and that can only be good news for the
sport’s growth here in the UK.
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Now the challenge is to take that stardom and leverage it to take MMA, via the
UFC brand, to a new level in the UK.
With his larger-than-life personality outside the Octagon and his outstanding
abilities inside it, McGregor has the chance to not only take up the mantle
of the sport’s biggest star, but also to bring the sport to more people on
his home continent.
The Beeb showing his KO of Aldo on Sports Personality of the Year
proves people are beginning to take notice and that fleeting, but
spectacular, clip will have been seen by millions watching that broadcast.
Hopefully as things develop the UFC, with McGregor as the spearhead, can make
a real developmental step forward in 2016. With the UFC’s UK TV deal
expiring in mid-2016, the opportunity is there for the sport to potentially
be taken to a new level.
It’s important the UFC strikes while the iron is hot, and I think this is the
moment they’ve been waiting for on this side of the pond.
The glass ceiling could soon be broken and the next few months could be very
interesting indeed.