Despite Multiple Record-Breaking PPVs Under His Belt, Conor McGregor’s Rumored UFC 300 Return Could Well Be Unnecessary for the Irishman

After a lot of uncertainty surrounding the return of Conor McGregor, the Irishman finally has a way to make his comeback soon. After issues regarding his USADA exclusion, ‘The Notorious’ recently enlisted himself in the testing pool. This means that his return can take place after six months and we have reasons to believe that he should not come back at UFC 300.

When MMA media outlets and journalists started asking Conor McGregor about his UFC return, he laid out a plan. Those plans included fighting a few notable fighters. At that time, it seemed like a farfetched dream given his predicament with USADA. However, now that McGregor’s likely to come back soon, he can start working on those plans ideally after UFC 300. Here are a few reasons why.

UFC 300 is a landmark event for Dana White and Co.

The UFC has completed 30 years since its inception. Those 30 years were not easy for the promotion due to the initial bans on events and backlashes regarding the violent nature of the sport. However, it later gained traction and has become one of the biggest fight promotions in the entire world.

Now, they are fast approaching the 300th pay-per-view event in 2024. Given that Dana White‘s promotion will hit the triple-century mark in PPVs, UFC 300 may have at least a million pay-per-view buys by itself.

Now, when it comes to Conor McGregor making his return at UFC 300, the event does not necessarily need the Irishman’s star power. Moreover, the UFC had already hit a home run with the success of UFC 200, so we can assume that the same thing could happen at UFC 300, even if the former champion did not partake in it.

As such, there is a possibility that the inclusion of ‘The Notorious’ may hamper the significance of the UFC as a promotion, reaching a milestone with 300 PPV events. Conor McGregor is already an established superstar. Hence, it would be unwise to let him fight on that card given how important that event is for the promotion to let it stand out on its own, which brings us to the next reason.

Conor McGregor is the biggest MMA superstar ever

Is there anybody who embodies MMA more than Conor McGregor does? Arguably not. MMA probably would not have been as big as it is today if the first-ever UFC simultaneous double champion had not arrived at the scene with his outlandish personality and the ability to back up his words inside the Octagon. The Irishman’s antics in and out of the Octagon and his unique trash-talking skills have made him the most must-see fighter ever.

Hardcore fans of the sport know McGregor very well, but his popularity has grown so much that people who never watched MMA started tuning in because of ‘The Notorious’. While fighters like Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre made their own mark in the UFC, no one comes close to Conor McGregor in terms of sheer popularity.

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Moreover, the rise in popularity of Conor McGregor has paved the way for other UFC superstars like Israel Adesanya and Khabib Nurmagomedov, just to name a few. The aforementioned reasons signify the fact that ‘The Notorious’ doesn’t need to be at the UFC 300 event. He has the ability to increase the level of excitement among fans to tune in to any event. As such, his star power is another reason why he can do without UFC 300. People would always watch his fights regardless of the magnitude of the event. Now let us look at one final reason for this claim.

Conor McGregor can headline any UFC event

Many fighters on the UFC roster believe that they should be given a chance to headline an event. These claims develop when they continue to acquire wins over a certain period. However, Dana White does not like giving everybody that opportunity. He wants fighters to be able to draw crowds and make people care about their fights. That has never posed a problem for Conor McGregor. His entertaining persona has made UFC millions and millions of dollars throughout the time he’s been in the promotion.

Conor McGregor has always fought in the main event in the last few years. Even if the cards were not as strong as fans would have wanted, they tuned in just to watch ‘The Notorious’ fight. Besides, he’s fought in some of the UFC’s biggest fights. If we look at the top 10 highest-earning UFC PPV events, we will find McGregor in eight of them.

Moreover, the most money UFC ever made in an event was in 2018 at UFC 229. UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov took on Conor McGregor in a very heated rivalry which earned the UFC  2.4 million pay-per-view buys and $180 million in revenue. So it’s safe to say that Conor McGregor headlining any event makes fans believe that it is worth watching. This is one of the biggest reasons why the Irishman can do without UFC 300.

Conor McGregor may not be the best fighter for many, but he’s certainly the biggest draw. And he does not need UFC 300 to show how big of a star he is. There are talks that Dana White is working hard to make that happen. If that comes to fruition, it may take away the fact that it is a significant event for Dana White and the company. What do you think? Drop your comments below.

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