When’s the last time you thought about competitive skateboarding? My guess is about 2003 when you dusted off your old copy of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and gave it one last go on the PS1. How about competitive swimming? Haven’t been keeping up with the regional matches lately have ya? Women’s tennis anyone? Either you’re Serena Williams or I haven’t seen you play tennis (unless you’re playing Serena Williams).
Last week, Connor McGregor announced his retirement (for the second time) on social media and it caused a stir. Is this for real? Is this a stunt? Etc. But the question that concerned me the most is can MMA survive in the mainstream without it’s premiere superstar?
Now I’m sure that this question will drive hardcore MMA fans (the worst people) insane. I’m not saying that MMA won’t continue to succeed. I’m saying it will most likely struggle to sustain mainstream appeal without such a globally appealing character. Even worse, I’m not sure they can replace him. Many will try to replicate the perfect storm of bravado, charisma, and total domination but none will succeed.
Team sports don’t have this issue. When Lebron retires, people are still going to watch the NBA. When Brady retires (soon hopefully) NFL ratings won’t flinch. Duke and Zion Williamson just got knocked out of the NCAA tournament and yet they’re still going to allow the other teams battle it out to see who is the best.
So how do individual sports fill the void of a superstar? Is there a solution? It’s such a tricky situation. When it comes to team sports, we are interested in close competition. Blowouts aren’t exciting. We want to live in a world where at the start of every season it’s anyone’s game. But in individual sports we don’t have the time to invest in every single competitor and, since their is no natural hometown allegiance, we crave total domination. You watch the Knicks because you’re from New York. You watch Connor McGregor because he dominates. And thus the engine of individual sports is in opposition to it’s sustainable growth. In order to grow, it needs one sole star. Any mark against that star that takes away from their total domination hurts the popularity of the sport. But with no one challenging this competitor’s reign, there is no one of interest when this competitor leaves the game.
Here’s my plan for MMA. And note, this is all contingent on one competitor being completely dominant. But, if one of these figures arises, I beg them to be diametrically opposite to Connor McGregor. No cocky walk to the ring. No clever lines on the mic. All the talking to be done with their hands. They should be short in press conferences. Silent in victory. Now I know this doesn’t scream superstar but trust me if this person is dominating then their silence will become deafening. Imagine knocking opponent after opponent out cold and then when Joe Rogan puts the mic in their face all they ever calmly say is “okay who’s next?”
All of this is TBD so in the meantime here is my favorite Connor McGregor moment of all time:
