Conor McGregor could be the Chael Sonnen to Jose Aldo's Anderson Silva
Whenever UFC president Dana White talks about Anderson Silva and his popularity, he usually says "The Spider" only became a big star after his highlight-reel front kick knockout of Vitor Belfort. That's partially true, but you could also tie Silva's boost in drawing power to one fight earlier.
Yeah, you already know where I'm going with this. No great hero has ever been complete without a worthy foil and that was Chael Sonnen for Silva. Before Sonnen, Silva never drew a buyrate of more than $500,000 by himself if we're going by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer numbers (via MMA Payout).
Silva eclipsed that mark when he was backed up on a card by names like Chuck Liddell or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Silva-Sonnen I at UFC 117 did $600,000 with a relatively weak undercard. The rematch at UFC 148 got $925,000.
Prior to that rivalry with Sonnen that captured fans' imagination, you could say Silva was a lot like Jose Aldo -- an extremely talented, exciting striker with charisma, but unable to talk directly to fans due to the language barrier. Even in Portuguese, both Silva and Aldo were unwilling to sell fights with their mouths.
In came Sonnen and Silva didn’t have to do that -- Sonnen spoke enough for both of them and then some. Conor McGregor can do the same thing for Aldo.
McGregor has not shut up since he entered the UFC. The Irishman has turned the volume up to 11, which would be largely intolerable if he hadn't backed up almost all of his words. McGregor (16-2) said he would knock out Dustin Poirier in the first round at UFC 178 on Saturday night in Las Vegas and then he went out and did it. Poirier came in ranked No. 5 among featherweight contenders.
"Hey, I'm a believer," White said at the post-fight press conference. "He did exactly what he said he was going to do. … Did I think he was actually going to go out there and stop Poirier in the first round? I did not."
McGregor is magnetic. When he talks, you want to lean in and listen to what he says. He looks the part of a star and he certainly dresses the part. How many times did he mention his white, ivory suit Saturday night? McGregor even took a page from Sonnen's book and hijacked a UFC belt, putting it in front of himself as he sat on the FOX Sports 1 set for the post-fight show.
"Don’t tell me that gold belt sitting up here right now on this table would not look great along side this ivory, elephant-trunk suit that I have on me right now," McGregor said. "It would look perfect, and I know Dana wants to see it. I know [UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta] wants to see it."
Jose Aldo defends his UFC featherweight title against Chad Mendes at UFC 179 on Oct. 25.
McGregor will fly down to Brazil to be in attendance for Aldo's title defense against Chad Mendes at UFC 179 on Oct. 25. He'll likely do a ton of media down there. Maybe he won't bash the entire country like Sonnen did, but is there any doubt he'll flex his muscle as the villain? He already took shots at both Aldo and Mendes on Saturday night.
"I believe I will dismantle both of them,” McGregor said. “Chad is a 5-foot-6, overblown – he should be a 125er, but he’s gone past that limit now. Now he’s just a little small bodybuilder stuck in the 145-pound division, and he gets tired quick. He’s 5-foot-6 with a 65-inch reach. I have an eight-inch reach advantage on him. I tower over him. I would maul Chad. Jose is in this situation where he has got to a stage where he’s happy with his level. … I feel he’s in that pattern of deterioration. Again, another easy win."
As a headliner, Aldo has struggled as a draw. He has reached $300,000 buys just once and that was against popular former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. But he's also a brilliant athlete, who has won 17 straight fights and defended the UFC/WEC featherweight title eight times. Aldo is one of the best fighters in the world.
McGregor isn't even a fraction as accomplished as Aldo is, but he's probably a bigger name (and maybe a bigger draw) right now -- and not just in Ireland. He is exactly what Aldo needs in his career, an antagonist and someone who is going to bring more eyes to his fights. Maybe even give him added motivation, too.
Aldo has not had a true rival yet and perhaps McGregor won't be that inside the Octagon. But he'll more than hold his own in pre-fight build up. If he can get more people to watch, then the floor is Aldo's. There's a sizeable portion of fans who want to see McGregor get his butt kicked and, well, that's what Aldo does best.
Silva became a bigger star -- and made a lot more money -- because of Sonnen. Aldo should embrace the green. And we don't mean the shade in the Irish flag.
