Here’s a puzzle for you:
The top 5 most money-making MMA fights of all time… all feature the same fighter.
He’s a short Irish guy who has lost four of his last seven fights. These days, he’s better-known for his whiskey brand and for his criminal activity than for sports or sportsmanship.
Even if you don’t follow MMA, you probably know who I’m talking about. It’s “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. So my puzzle for you is this:
Why is McGregor such a draw on TV and in real life? After all, he’s estimated to be worth over $100m and is by far the richest MMA fighter in history. Why him and not the hundreds of other MMA pros?
Maybe you say it’s McGregor’s exciting fighting style. Or his ability to knock people out. Or his boyish charm early in his career.
I say all that stuff is cool for a while. But it gets old, much like hard teaching in your daily emails gets old.
Instead, I think it’s because McGregor is a natural-born promoter. He knows how to sell himself… and he knows how to sell fights.
My point is that, if you’re in the business of persuading, influencing, or making sales, then each of McGregor’s public acts is worth studying.
Take, for example, McGregor’s Instagram post yesterday. It was about the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who beat McGregor badly two years ago, and who is now retiring with an undefeated 29-0 record. To which McGregor wrote:
“Happy retirement kid, smell ya later. Never forget who came in the game and made ye. Straight from my big Irish balls.”
Perhaps you find this arrogant or nasty or stupid. And perhaps it is. But it’s also a good illustration of something McGregor does over and over. And that’s to take every large public event in his industry… and twist it until it points back to him.
Speaking of which:
Today is the last day to sign up for the first run of my bullets course. By my calculation, you’ve got exactly 6 hours and 13 minutes remaining if you’d like to join. And if you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about… or you want a refresher to push you off the fence one way or another… then hurry here and follow the instructions at the bottom.