Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren recently declared the McGregor era functionally over. Although “The Notorious” remains the UFC’s biggest star, and its highest pay-per-view draw, Conor’s patchy results lately – with just one win in four fights – are affecting his pulling power.
In an interview with MMA Island, Askren compared the Conor McGregor hype machine of 2016 to how he looks now. “When McGregor was competing for UFC titles, there was so much hype around him.
Ben Askren: Conor McGregor’s Losing Streak Has Damaged His Drawing Power
And now a McGregor fight is still a big fight but it’s not the same thing that it was, right?” Askren continued, pointing out the massive mainstream appeal of McGregor’s record-breaking title campaigns.
“I mean we’re thinking when he’s getting ready to fight Jose Aldo or Eddie Alvarez, those fights were just so gigantic and nowadays lost, three or four maybe or four or five, something like that. People will be excited for the next Conor McGregor fight but they are not going to be as excited as they were back then.”
Conor himself no doubt disagrees, as he has repeatedly declared his intention to recapture the 155-pound strap. Currently, the lightweight division is ruled by Charles Oliveira, who made his first title defense against Dustin Poirier in December 2021.
Oliveira brutally finished Poirier in the third round with a rear naked choke. Poirier, leading up to the Oliveira fight, defeated Conor McGregor not once, but twice. The first win for Poirier even came courtesy of Conor McGregor’s first ever loss via knockout.
With Oliveira set to defend his title once more against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 this May, a return to the lofty heights of yesteryear is looking further and further away for Conor McGregor.
It’s worth nothing that Oliveira previously told MMA Fighting that he was interested in a “money fight” against Conor McGregor, so the scenario is not totally unrealistic. “If I had the chance [in the past] to fight for the belt or fight Conor, everybody knows I’d fight for the belt.
That already happened, I’m the champion now; the champion has a name and his name is Charles Oliveira, Charles ‘do Bronx.’ If I had the chance to fight Conor for money today, I would. The belt is mine and continues being mine. We’ll continue building our legacy and making history.”
In the meantime, Conor McGregor still needs to recover from the gruesome broken leg he sustained fighting Dustin Poirier in July – yet another loss on the Irishman’s record. Do you think Conor will ever be a top draw for the UFC again?
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