The first fight in years that had me feeling butterflies before the action started has ended abruptly after Conor McGregor appears to have torn his ACL almost immediately upon the start of the fight.
“The most anticipated comeback in years lasted just 69 seconds before a devastating knee injury brought it to an abrupt end.”
– Reuters
While I expected Conor McGregor to have limited success early before ultimately getting outclassed by Max Holloway for as long as he could stay on his feet through the remaining rounds, my concern pre-fight was for Conor the human being—not Conor the box-office draw. In the past year he has gotten married, seems to have kicked what many (allegedly) interpreted as a persistent drug habit, and has been the most clear-headed and present we have seen him since before the Mayweather bout.
He had two remaining fights on his UFC contract before becoming a free agent. After that, he’ll have $100 million paydays waiting for him against the likes of Jake Paul, Floyd Mayweather, or whichever celebrity or retired boxer Netflix or Saudi Arabia’s PIF decides to throw enough money at him to face.
TKO, the parent company of the UFC and WWE, has recently drawn criticism after awarding massive compensation packages to CEO Ari Emanuel and President Mark Shapiro while reportedly asking some WWE talent to accept pay cuts. I don’t like the way they do business, and I hope they eventually sell TKO to an owner who treats both the talent and the fans better.
That being said, it’s why I’m happy Conor McGregor fulfilled another obligation, collected an estimated $30 million payday, and is now looking at just one final Octagon appearance before his indentured servitude to TKO is complete.