UFC
Conor McGregor says 145 lbs. is "the McGregor division," gunning for a million buys for Jose Aldo fight at UFC 189
Mar 5, 2015 - 11:35:29 AM Conor McGregor says 145 lbs. is "the McGregor division," gunning for a million buys for Jose Aldo fight at UFC 189

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"It stands true to what I'm saying. I am up there as one of the, if not the biggest fighter in the game. It's happened a few times where the lighter weight has fought in the main event of heavier guys. When he fought Ricardo Lamas, I said, 'Now he's the pound-for-pound co-main event champion of the world.' Now he's fighting the moneyman, now he fights me. Now we're ahead of the 170-pound division.

At one point in time, the 170-pound division was the division. Now it's the 145-pound division; well, it's actually the McGregor division. Wherever I go we'll be ahead of whoever is on the card. It's that simple. I will certainly push for over one million buys. It's a big, big fight people want to see. Every fight, it's 'this is the guy,' now Aldo is the guy. Every fight it's the same process, rinse and repeat. I go out and I make it look easy, I break them down and that is it. A million buys would be sweet. I love to smash records every fight. This will be no different."

-In an interview with Ariel Helwani for MMAFighting.com earlier this week, Conor McGregor talked about headlining UFC 189 in July ahead of the Welterweight Title bout between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald (transcribed by MMAMania.com).

Penick's Analysis: It's hard to deny anymore that McGregor's getting people to tune in. The numbers for his fight with Dennis Siver attest to that. Getting people to pay $60 for you is a different story, of course, and Aldo's never headlined a pay-per-view with anything close to a million buys. Still, the way the UFC has gotten the attention of fans this year as compared to last is night and day, and if they continue to bring a string of excellent shows to their fanbase, more will be likely to tune in for the next big event. This will feel like that, but it's a lofty goal to hit a million buys. Still, McGregor isn't someone to shot for lower, more realistic goals.