MMA personality Ariel Helwani believes that UFC’s decision not to include Conor McGregor in the UFC 300 lineup is all about business. According to the industry journalist, the promotion feels it can hit lucrative PPV sales by separating the UFC 300 and McGregor’s event. Yet, Helwani thinks the company is “somewhat playing with fire.”
McGregor announced his return to the cage by fighting Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas. This could be quite a shock for many expecting McGregor’s return to be at UFC 300 in April. However, UFC CEO Dana White had already made it clear that the Irish fighter wouldn’t join the monumental event even before McGregor made the announcement.
Interestingly, prior to those things, Audie Attar, McGregor’s manager, revealed that the team was working to include the fighter’s name in the UFC 300 lineup. Needless to say, the effort seems futile, as the fighter would instead return two months after UFC 300. According to Helwani, the team indeed made the effort, with McGregor really hoping to join the event.
“Everything can change, but he is not fighting at UFC 300 (as of today),” Helwani said in the recent episode of The MMA Hour. “From what I was told, he really wanted to fight at 300 and he was upset, he was disappointed.”
As Helwani shared, the company’s objective is to be profitable, explaining why “The Notorious” is not given the chance to join the event. With fans feeling thrilled with the anticipation of the “300” event, the journalist suggested that the company expects it can accumulate appealing PPV sales without McGregor’s name on it. Meanwhile, by giving the Irish superstar his own event, it is believed that the UFC can create another lucrative PPV fight.
“They feel like they can get their big (PPV) number just by 300 alone… then you get him later on down the line, International Fight Week, and you get two bites at that million-buy apple, so to speak,” Helwani explained.
However, it could be a risky choice for the company, relying only on the prominence of the number “300” and McGregor’s fame to reach its PPV goals. As such, Helwani said the only way to ensure everything would be a success is to “unleash the beast.”
“I personally think it’s a little bit of a mistake given the landscape right now, given who’s available, given the big names fighting at 298, 299, 297. I don’t see the big fight out there,” Helwani said. “(UFC) is somewhat playing with fire. You have a revved and ready-to-go Conor McGregor, the biggest draw in the history of the game, you have UFC 300 in a little over three months. You’ve gotta unleash the beast! I think you’re playing with fire… You only get so many chances with Conor at this stage in his life and career… It reminds me of a kid who has a chocolate bar and its keeps nibbling at it because he wants to save it, and then the bar gets spoiled or melted and he regrets not just devouring it.”
