January - 2016
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
34
McGregor’s Rise:
Is MMA Closing The Gap on Boxing?
Article By: Barnaby Kelleway
Mixed martial arts has been in
a state of growth since the very
first UFC event over 20 years
ago. Now, after UFC 194, the
sport is in for its greatest surge
in popularity since UFC 100
and the days of Brock Lesnar.
But does this green wave sig-
nify a time when MMA catches
up with its big brother, boxing?
There is one man, with a little
help from his female co-star,
doing everything within his
immense power to close the
once gaping gap.The Lesnar of
today does not weigh 265lbs,
nor does he look like the prod-
uct of a biological experiment.
What the former heavyweight
champion turned WWE super-
star and Conor McGregor do
have in common, as well as
some questionable ink, is ex-
traordinary athletic talent and
a rare ability to make people
want to watch them.
McGregor’s latest one-man
show, UFC 194, will not break
the PPV buy record set by Le-
snar and Frank Mir at UFC 100
but it won’t be far away. All
signals indicate that UFC 200
in July, likely to be headlined
by the Irishman, will set a new
record – a record which will eat
up even more ground on the
slow-moving leader in com-
bat sports. The featherweight
champion is the ace in the pack
for the UFC, the golden ticket
which could propel the com-
pany to new heights.
After recording the quickest
ever UFC title fight, McGregor
is being rewarded for his fruit-
fulness – he will officially be
paid more dollars per second
than any fighter in company
history – thus toppling the
UFC’s poster-girl, Ronda Rous-
ey, from that particular title.
As impressive as McGregor’s
figures are, they pale in com-
parison to those of boxing’s
greatest star, Floyd Mayweath-
Conor McGregor (José Youngs/The MMA Corner)
