Is Conor McGregor bigger than MMA?

Following two altercations at Bellator 187 the Notorious Conor McGregor would normally be subject to penalties, sanctions and punishment but given his significance and friendship within the world of MMA how likely is that to occur?

The 28-year-old Irishman has long been viewed as a marmite figure to the wider sporting majority, some love him, some hate him; but his status as one of world’s top athletes is undoubted.

McGregor is under contract with UFC (image: UFC)

During a recent Bellator bout, the dual UFC champion entered the Octagon to celebrate with team-mate Charlie Ward following a first-round win but the celebration quickly turned sour.

As McGregor was an unlicensed ‘corner-man’ and in no way affiliated to Bellator medical staff, he was forbidden from entering but that did not stop him and when referee Marc Goddard ordered him to leave, the Irishman became aggressive.

Security quickly intervened but not before ‘Mac’ pushed the official who rocked backwards nearly tumbling onto Ward’s defeated opponent John Redmond, but the carnage did not end there.

Despite being ushered out of the octagon, The Notorious One could be heard shouting “I am sick of you. That was a f*****g stoppage.”

While things were already in carnage, McGregor attempted once again to enter the cage, this time by climbing over it, as a Bellator official Mike Johnson halted his efforts, he was greeted by a swinging fist – something that may result in prosecution.

Despite the serious allegations that may be presented to the young fighter, his reputation as a loudmouth and crazy character may stand against him when a decision is made, but depending on the outcome, the question of whether McGregor is bigger than the sport of MMA, has finally been asked.

Few can doubt the 28-year-olds significance to contracted company UFC as his second bout with Nate Diaz earned him the highest buy rate in their history at 1.6m; with the Irish fighter also holding four of the top five spots, with a total of 5.4m views so far, and while this feat alone is impressive, his accomplishments away from the sport may only further his power within the company.

McGregor is a high profile athlete across two sports (image: boxingnewsonline)

The Mac secured a lucrative deal outside of MMA to fight Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather earlier this year with the fight a current United Kingdom buy-rate record, highlighting just how important McGregor is not just to Dana White and co. but to the world of sport also.

As one of the most in-demand athletes alive, it is an unusual phenomenon to have one star able to command such a high profile in two sports, with no word as of yet on the next phase in his career.

This raises the question of whether UFC is bigger than McGregor? With the athlete currently under contract by the fighting company if he was able to come away unscathed following such serious and technically illegal actions, it may not be long until The Notorious One is renamed The Untouchable One.

Following the incident(s), Bellator have released a statement: “We’re aware of the in-cage altercation involving Conor McGregor and a Bellator staff member.

“Viacom and Bellator hold the safety and well-being of our staff in the highest regard and we’re currently reviewing the situation.”

McGregor was previously fined by the Nevada State Athletics Commission for hurling a water bottle and energy drink towards Diaz during a pre-fight press conference ahead of their UFC 202 clash in 2016.

The NSAC originally presented a punishment of a fine of $150,000 and 50-hours community service but this was settled earlier this year to be $25,000 and 5 hours of service within six-months instead.

Conor's friend and coach John Kavanagh is president of the IMMAA (image: BJPENN.com)

What may be a tricky situation now is that as the event took place in Dublin, Ireland, jurisdiction regarding punishment will likely fall down onto the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association (IMMAA) a governing body of the sport recognised by Sport Ireland.

However, President of the organization is none other than John Kavanagh, coach of McGregor – could this be another case of having friends in high places, or will the 40-year-old look at what is right for the dignity of the sport and punishment who deserves to be punished; colleague, or not?

An Interview with Joseph Conners

Back in October, I had the pleasure of meeting former WCPW Champion Joseph Conners in Manchester at True Legacy.

The company were the first that I had ever dealt with at that point and made everything so fluent and simple and were a welcome experience for my first venture into covering professional wrestling as a journalist.

While myself and partner spoke to many of the top talent that were featured at the event including Cody Rhodes, Joe Hendry, Pete Dunne and Melina, it was Conners that provided us with one of the more in depth chats of the afternoon.

The performer from Nottingham is set to represent WWE in the upcoming tournament to crown the first ever United Kingdom Champion in Blackpool in January and here is the full transcript of the chat between myself and the 29-year-old.

So champion of WCPW how does it feel?

It feels great, you just look around at the thousands of fans and to represent this new company that is doing all of this great stuff is absolutely fantastic. The important thing for me now is to just do all of the right things and keep hold of the title.

The first ever pay-per-view for WCPW was streamed online as you squared off against Martin Kirby, how highly does that match rank in your career so far?

Looking back at it after everything was said and done, seeing all of the reactions on the night, you have to take a step back and you see Jim Ross and Jim Cornette are commentating on the show, Kurt Angle in the main event and so much other stuff going on and then to be in the ring with someone that I have known personally and professionally for nearly 10-years, and then for it to be on pay-per-view as well as listening to the feedback, everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. To see the fans throw their glow-sticks into the ring – I think we created a moment of something special, and with it being the first pay-per-view of the company and heading into it as champion that is a big responsibility to give a worthy championship match, so hopefully when I talk about and describe the show, they feel that there was something special about the match, that is the most important thing.

You mentioned about being on the same show as some legends of the wrestling industry, do you ever just step back and reflect on how quickly things are growing?

I have been doing it for about 10-years and I have been on shows and wrestled a lot of big names, names that I grew up watching and stars that have now made it to WWE, if I was able to go back in time and speak to the teenager me and tell him what he would be doing, he’d tell me I was crazy. You get to a level where hopefully you’re in the ring and you’re not really thinking or worrying, it could be against Cody Rhodes, Billy Gunn or X-Pac and you just think that you’re there for a reason, so there are special matches but you have to feel that you belong there and have confidence in your own abilities, otherwise what is the point of doing this?

The list of performers you’ve come up against is very impressive, you’ve mentioned a few already – but is there anybody that stands out for you?

Drew Galloway is phenomenal. I could sit here truthfully and say that he was one of the toughest guys I have worked against, he was very, very physical and I have a lot of respect for his style as when I am watching him, his physicality is second to none in my opinion. I have been in the ring with Hardcore Holly five times and obviously he has a reputation for being tough so that was an interesting experience for me. Cody Rhodes is an absolute professional, he is phenomenal in the ring so he is worthy of a mention, but there are a lot of British guys also. Rampage, El Ligero, [Martin] Kirby just to name a few and even people all around the world. I’ve wrestled Rich Swann before he went to WWE, he was a hell of a character and a hell of a talent. Chris Hero is another one, an amazing and different athlete, so there are so many guys that I could sit here for an hour and list them all but to finish, there is a British guy I would like to plug; CJ Banks, he hasn’t wrestled for WCPW yet but he is flawless in the ring and phenomenal but there have been so many that have stood out. I am lucky in that I have got to a level where I get to work with some of the top names, even just the WCPW roster, where everyone has shown that they belong here.

You’ve been a part of WCPW from the very start do you feel that the exposure that the company brings has helped grow your profile even more?

Absolutely, just the scope of the audience they bring in is massive. I have had some high profile matches over my career elsewhere and I appreciate that I have been at some phenomenal companies all across the country but at the minute the views that WCPW command online is incredible. One of the first matches that I had for the company was a triple-threat between myself, Gabriel Kidd and Alex Gracie and last time I checked it was over 180,000 views just for that one match so after the first episode of Loaded my phone was on fire from messages on Twitter and Facebook, so yeah it has helped my name and even just at the events themselves with hundreds of people queueing up for autographs and pictures so it has definitely helped a lot.

With gold already around your waist and your name continuing to rise, have you outlined any specific goals that you want to accomplish in your career?

Mainly I just want to continue building my name and being part of big events such as True Legacy but I’d love to work for a full-time organization. Wrestling is pretty much my living now but I want to be on the biggest stages possible, wherever that is, whoever can offer me the opportunity to be in the big events, I would be lying if I said I did not want to go to WWE at some point in my life, that would be phenomenal. Be it a WresteMania or a Royal Rumble, that would be incredible. I’ve learned in life that no matter what you do, you should never put a glass ceiling to anything, you have to believe that you can get there and never tell yourself that it is too early or too late, so for me right now I am just enjoying where this crazy journey takes me.

In bringing this full circle, you’ve listed some of the top people you’ve stepped into the ring with already, but in an ideal world is there anyone you would love to be involved in a match against?

Looking at the current crop it would have to be someone like a John Cena, purely because of the legacy he has in the ring and the way the crowd react to him. I’ve been asked this question in the past and I always look to Cena or [Randy] Orton just because of the longevity that they have had. Looking back, there are the typical answers such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and from a British perspective you have [William] Regal or Finlay so there are so many guys to name and so many amazing guys that I’m sure all wrestling fans want to see in the ring. To everyone, there will be people that stick out for all different reasons, and when you get into this industry you appreciate people for different things that you maybe didn’t think about when you were just watching it on the television. Looking at closer to home, Kurt Angle is literally on the same show so it would be great to get in the ring with him but for now I’ll have to settle for him versus Cody [Rhodes].

Your career is far from over but you spoke about the longevity factor in Orton and Cena, how would like to be remembered when everything is said and done?

Hopefully knock on wood I do have a long career and injuries hopefully calm down but I want to have the legacy of someone who worked hard, was professional in and out of the ring and someone that whether you loved or hated me, was able to make you feel something when I was in the ring. Also as someone who kept their feet on the floor, that is something that I am asked a lot and the advice I give is, that no matter where it takes you remain humble. I’ve worked shows with thousands of fans to some with 20 people at working men’s clubs so I have been in a lot of different places, so make sure you remember who you were when you decided that this was the career you wanted to take. With me, there is Joseph Conners and then there is the normal Joe as well and I want to stay true to that person, that is the most important thing.