The biggest UFC event in history?
It’s fight week and you’d know it. Conor McGregor and his antics at the UFC 205 pre-fight press conference are everywhere on social media as he hypes what is surely one of the biggest events in UFC history.
As per usual, McGregor was late to the press conference, a demonstration of the power he wields in the promotion? Or a simple miscalculation of the time it would take to arrive at the arena?
The answer seems pretty clear.
He danced his way into the conference sporting a white mink coat, a tribute to the outfit Smokin’ Joe Frazier wore in the build-up to his fight with Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden.
If you're wondering why Conor McGregor wore a red polo neck top and a white mink coat, it appears it's a tribute to Joe Frazier. #UFC205 pic.twitter.com/ZFnehuohIu
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) November 11, 2016
McGregor’s lightweight title bout with Eddie Alvarez headlines UFC 205, which is the company’s first event in New York since the sport was legalised in the state.
Some had been saying the build-up to this fight has been subdued over the past week, but the actions of Alvarez and McGregor at the presser seems to have cranked the hype right into overdrive and the MMA world are salivating at the thought of the pair’s match-up this weekend.
But what about the Pay-Per-Vew numbers?
“Well, the Mayweather-Pacquiao number is ridiculous,” Dana White said. “That number was massive. Never seen anything like it. Obviously, the first time in New York — and with such a sick card — I mean, the Countdown show we did the other night on FOX did 2.4 million viewers…for a Countdown show. Embedded, the first episode did 1.3 million.
“The numbers are huge, so looking good.”
It’s thought that McGregor’s last fight with Nate Diaz set the record for PPV buys with a reported 1.6 million, beating the previous record of UFC 100 in 2009, thought to have done 1.5 million buys.
UFC 205, featuring three title fights and the indomitable draw that is Conor McGregor, is on course to beat these numbers and cement his place as the biggest star in the UFC.
