It’s the most 2017 fight imaginable.
In so many ways, Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather encapsulates the internet era in which we currently live, where instant gratification is demanded and shit talk gets you a long way.
McGregor didn’t get the opportunity to make his boxing debut against one of the greatest ever based on merit. Not even close.
‘The Notorious’ guaranteed himself the healthiest payday of his already profitable career in a number of steps, chief among them being an unwavering vision of what could be possible for his family if he simply believed.
First McGregor built a hardcore fanbase which, in reality, had far less to do with his admittedly masterful skills than it had to do with his ability on the microphone.
Then he made them believe.
What McGregor says goes in the eyes of so many of the Dubliner’s supporters and they will argue that it’s because he backs up his Mystic Mac predictions so frequently that they follow his every word.
And while his prophecies for his fights against Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez proved accurate, it should be pointed out that he predicted that he would finish Dennis Siver “inside two minutes,” that his body shots would put Nate Diaz away at UFC 196 and that he would “KO Diaz inside the second round” of their UFC 202 rematch.
But this isn’t about the fact that some predictions don’t come good in arguably the most unpredictable sport in existence.
This is about McGregor’s relationship with his fans.
With an appreciation of the most basic principle of economics, McGregor knew early doors that he needed to cultivate a demand to see him compete and he did just that.
His polarising nature made him a fighter whose outings quickly became unmissable. Whether his die-hard fans were tuning in to see him showcase his skills or his detractors were shelling out pay-per-view dollars in the hope of seeing his mouth shut, people were watching in droves.
Four of the five most watched UFC pay-per-views to date were headlined by the divisive Dub and with his superstar status already set in stone thanks to his drawing power, McGregor tempted Mayweather out of retirement.
The pair took to the stage outside the T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday to greet the fans in attendance for their August 26 super-fight and their behaviour spoke volumes about their character.
A perimeter was set up for the media members and, between that barrier and the one in front of the fans, there was something of a narrow walkway in place.
Mayweather took to the stage first and gave his obligatory waves from the platform but kept his address short and sweet before he scurried off.
McGregor, meanwhile, put us media members second and, having spotted the barrier in front of the hundreds of fans, he took the opportunity to shake some hands.
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Security guards flanked ‘The Notorious’ as he personally thanked those who would have been happy with a fleeting glimpse of the biggest MMA star walking the planet.
Having stood just feet away from McGregor, who was draped in a stunning three-piece suit despite the 37° weather in Nevada, it was impossible not to notice the difference between his appreciation for those who spent their hard-earned money to travel to see him in action and how Mayweather treated the event.
“Did he walk around the whole thing?” McGregor asked reporters after the so-called grand arrival.
“I didn’t even know I was supposed to. I just saw the fans and gravitated towards them. Again no instruction about what this is. This is something new to me.
“I appreciate the fans coming out here. We went around to meet them all and I’ll probably go and do another little lap for the fans again.”
That instinct differential – where one fighter spotted fans and felt an impulse to engage with them and the other didn’t – perhaps explains how McGregor is just about ready to eclipse Mayweather in the pay-per-view drawing stakes.
Fans – also known as potential customers – are not idiots and acknowledgement goes a long way for them.
It did on Tuesday, when the grins on some fans’ faces as they got a fist-bump from McGregor told us everything we needed to know about how beloved ‘The Notorious’ is.
Whatever the result on Saturday night, McGregor made some days in the build-up to the biggest fight of his career.
And for the giddy fans who felt the touch or experienced a smiling glance from their hero, that matters a hell of a lot more than whoever’s hand gets raised at the weekend.
