By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
If you ask Conor McGregor if he’s a businessman, the brash MMA fighter will tell you he’s a business, man. Indeed, McGregor is his own brand.
The UFC fighter isn’t just UFC’s biggest moneymaker. The fighter who endured a broken lower leg in Saturday’s trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at T-Mobile Arena and turns 33 Wednesday is Forbes’ top-earning athlete for 2020.
During the pandemic year, McGregor earned $180 million, with just about $22 million of that coming from inside the UFC octagon. The lion’s share was hauled in from his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. Perhaps a swig was in order after he broke his leg last night, resulting in Poirier being awarded a first-round TKO at UFC 264.
It was the second loss in row for McGregor, who was also knocked out by Poirier in their second fight on Fight Island in January. Thanks to the composed, yet punishing Poirier, UFC’s biggest name is on a two-fight losing skid and hasn’t won a fight since beating an aging Donald Cerrone at T-Mobile Arena before the COVID pandemic in January 2020.
But there is one arena where no other combat sports fighter can come close to beating The Notorious One, and that’s in the landscape of brand recognition and profitability.
When it comes to athlete branding in combat sports, the game has evolved since the days of displaying the name of a local car dealership on boxing trunks. Talk to any wealthy musicians, athletes, or actors and they’ll tell you while they certainly make tons of money off of their respective vocations, the real cash is in moving consumer products with high-profit margins in sponsorship deals.
Big names like Conor McGregor are their brands. Announced as ‘Notorious Irish Whiskey’ during the post-fight press conference for the Floyd Mayweather bout in July 2017, the spirit was eventually launched with the name Proper No. Twelve a year later. Since, it’s been a featured sponsor for big boxing events including Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 2 at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas. Also, the brand was front and center on several UFC fights.
In 2020, Proximo Spirits, a company that owns Jose Cuervo and other alcohol brands, acquired a majority stake in Proper No. Twelve, the company McGregor co-founded. The deal was for a whopping $600 million. Whisky is big business for the UFC. Front and center on T-Mobile Plaza is Howler Head. The company became UFC’s first ever flavored whiskey sponsor.
UFC President Dana White recognizes the potential of athletes to earn substantial revenue outside of fighting, but is hesitant to give too much financial advice. When we asked the UFC boss about the types of conversations he’s had with fighters about taking advantage of their moment and capitalizing on their brand, White said he has one main type of advice.
”It’s so hard to do because you know you’re dealing with grown men and women, and you can’t tell people what to do with their money. The one thing I always tell them is please pay your taxes. That’s the one thing that you don’t want to screw up and get behind. Probably one of the most successful brands too is Ronda Rousey. I think she has really done a great job on capitalizing on all of the money she’s made and is continuing to make tons of money outside of the octagon.”
Including back-to-back defeats to Poirier, the former two-division champion has lost three of his last four fights and his sole UFC win in the past 4 1/2 years was his pummeling of “Cowboy” Cerrone 18 months ago. Still, the Las Vegas-based promotion benefits exponentially when McGregor headlines the ticket.
“We’re trending number one in the world right now,” White said. “I always knew that this would…I’m so crazy driven to make this the biggest sport in the world. I feel like in the last year and a half a lot of people have gotten complacent and lazy and I’ll run over all of them.”
By contrast, Poirier has yet to become the fighting cash cow McGregor is.
He’s known for his “good guy” persona and is a less brash, but also mindful of his earning opportunities at the same time.
In time, it’s certainly possible for Poirier to make a run at this pitchman thing. He’s partnered with Heartbeat to create Poirer’s Louisiana Style Hot Sauce. The product description is as follows: “Dustin Poirier is bringing the heat! We’ve partnered with Louisiana legend and UFC fan favourite Dustin Poirier to bring you Poirier’s Louisiana Style, a hot sauce ode to his Lafayette, Louisiana roots.”
“We’re about to launch the KO edition on the 15th of July. People wanted a hotter sauce so we’re bringing a hotter sauce,” Poirier said. “The six-ounce bottle currently sells for $12.”
The Lafayette, Louisiana native is also the president of The Good Fight Foundation. The charity provides money and resources to those in need in his hometown. Even after a beaten and broken McGregor constantly crossed the line screaming expletives after the fight Saturday night, fighter known as “The Diamond” remained classy.
“Listen, Conor said some nasty stuff that didn’t make it on ‘Embedded,’” Poirier said. “When they show the behind the scenes from this fight, you’ll see him on the ground saying some real bad stuff. Even despite him saying all that stuff, I don’t wish that serious harm on nobody. The guy’s got kids. I want him to go home safe to his family.”
When LVSportsBiz.com asked Poirier about what it’s been like to enter the UFC as a young fighter and evolve into a wise businessman, he began to answer the question before being cut off by the attention-starved McGregor. “It’s been a lot of growth. Learning from losses in life and in fighting. I’m just getting better at it all.”
The two UFC combatants may be far apart in bank account numbers, but Poirier is the better, more disciplined fighter at this point in their careers. Poirier dominated the opening round Saturday, catching McGregor with several clean shots including a barrage of elbows on the ground.
“We’re going to fight again whether it’s in the octagon or on the sidewalk,” he said at the UFC 264 post-fight conference. First he’ll meet Charles Oliviera, the lightweight champion for a title shot later this year, White confirmed a fourth fight with McGregor will happen once McGregor has recovered — which will mean another big pay day for both White and the Irishman.