Why, Conor, Why?
All Conor McGregor needed to do was either stay home in Dublin and tweet, or fly into Brooklyn and strut. And post-UFC 223, his comeback options would have been supremely awesome - Russia or Hawaii, vodka or pineapples.
That kind of scenario is known across the land as a win-win. Instead, Mystic Mac is now faced with zero options and only grim consequences, both criminal and financial, putting the once glorious champ-champ into the much maligned lose-lose column.
Fans of MMA, the UFC, and McGregor are undoubtedly left with endless questions. Number one being, who throws a dolly? If only to appease the tiniest segment of your fanbase who are also "Austin Powers" fans, why not just throw a shoe?
Far less injuries, and the meme universe would be fed for days with images of Conor’s face pasted over the body of Random Task., Dr. Evil’s henchman. (Incidentally, the actor who played Random Task was accused, while in prison, of murdering his cellmate, making this suggestion unintentionally more apropos.)
Other questions needing answers include: “Why?” and “Why, Conor, why?” Sugarcoated killer Karolina Kowalkiewicz was on that bus, so was the zen strawweight champ "Thug" Rose Namajunas.
And not because they are women, but simply because they are badass, the question arises, what the heck, man? Why put your fellow skilled martial artists at risk? There is no hiding behind ignorance here; not knowing who else was on the bus, besides Khabib, only cranks up the recklessness factor.
Mulleted Michael Chiesa and tiny Ray Borg were also aboard, both with front row seats to the “dolly-through-glass” show. Minor injuries subsequently dissolved their ability to fight.
And depending on the medical outcomes, this incident might very well take food off of their respective tables. (It might also replace said food with cold-hard-cash should lawsuits rain down on the former double-champ.)
As the days pass, we’ll likely learn more about Conor’s “why,” besides the cursory notion that he was defending longtime training partner Artem Lobov’s honor. But it’s doubtful any explanation will satisfy, especially considering the nature of the attack, which has been helpfully corroborated by infinite video footage shot from angles even Steven Spielberg couldn’t conceive.
We will also discover who is the true A-side in this fight game. Does Dana White blink first, or does McGregor? White, staying true to himself, wasted no time in rejecting everything that McGregor represented on that day in the loading dock of Barclays Center.
But apart from stripping Conor of his belt, which was already scheduled to occur on fight night, White hasn’t walked down any one way streets. Condemnation is not action, and as of now, Conor McGregor is still the biggest star in MMA, period.
So what will it take for McGregor to get back on track, back to a good place with the UFC, and most significantly, his fans? Or, is that even necessary? Wouldn’t we all tune in just the same whether Conor apologizes sincerely or balks confidently; wouldn’t we buy in to watch him fight Khabib Nurmagomedov, who now stands alone as the only opponent that matters?
The UFC certainly knows this to be true; and so again, Conor, once untangled from this bus mess, is on track to produce another epic UFC earnings report. McGregor doesn’t need to blink, he just needs to wait.
Which means if White and the UFC value money over integrity, we’ll see a Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov throw down in Russia before the end of 2018. If they choose to stand in solidarity with their roster of 500-plus fighters, who didn’t throw dollies, guard rails, or trash cans, then we’ll all miss out on what has mutated into the biggest fight in MMA history. Either way, it’s fair to conclude that Conor’s “why” shines crystal clear.