The polarizing Conor McGregor—to some a symbol of hope for Irish combat sports, to others an obnoxious performer lacking professionalism on the grand stage–has managed to maintain his status as Mixed Martial Arts’ biggest super star since his UFC debut in April of 2013. However, the hype behind McGregor seemed to slow to a grinding halt earlier this month, when he broke his leg fighting Dustin Poirier and subsequently suffered a TKO that will not only require several months of rehabilitation, but will also delay his chance at a championship belt.
After a heated lead-up to the fight, this ending felt anti-climactic. After weeks of McGregor claiming that Poirier would be leaving on a stretcher, it was in fact the Notorious himself that needed to be assisted out of the arena by paramedics. The global fame McGregor carries and the hype behind this trilogy fight brought in media from all around the world, and many different opinions were shared regarding the outcome. Here’s a breakdown of some of those reactions to UFC 264.
Yahoo Sports: Classless Conor
Kevin Iole, a “combat columnist” held nothing back with his Yahoo Sports coverage after McGregor’s devastating leg injury that cost him the rubber match to Louisiana’s Poirier. Iole made a point of reminding readers of McGregor’s wild predictions before the fight. Specifically when he claimed that Poirier would have to leave the Octagon on a stretcher. Iole’s digs at McGregor range from criticism over his recent lackluster performances, to how he has conducted himself as a fighter outside the cage. Iole repeatedly takes shots at McGregor’s unprofessionalism and his trash talk, which Iole believes went too far. What this article fails to acknowledge is that all these characteristics Iole criticizes in McGregor (a wild fighting style, borderline abusive trash talk, and a staggering amount of cockiness) are the reasons McGregor has the following he has, and why remains the biggest money fight in the UFC.
At times Iole’s comments come off as biased, using strong language such as, “A classless Conor McGregor has soul-searching to do after loss to Dustin Poirier” and “Porier, the better man in and outside the cage.” Iole avoids mentioning the acts of taunting, and backhanded statements Poirier made after the fight, choosing only to focus on McGregor’s misfortune.
Photos in the article show a vulnerable McGregor, perhaps serving as a way to communicate that the fight was never in McGregor’s control.
TMZ: Tabloid Take
TMZ, a popular tabloid, took a stab at covering the fight results. The headline was simple and effective in grabbing the attention of a casual reader who may not have much interest in MMA. “Conor McGregor Breaks Leg, Dustin Poirier Wins Trilogy Fight.” In typical Tabloid fashion the article gets right to the click bait with a screenshot of McGregor’s leg when it gave up on him. The extent of this article’s sports analysis is brief to say the least–the final sequence before the injury is explained in just one sentence. Instead TMZ focuses on the exchange of words between the two fighters after the stoppage. TMZ did a better job than Yahoo Sports of presenting the animosity between the two fighters in an objective way, giving equal attention to both Porier and McGregor’s post-fight banter.
The second half of this article goes on to link tweets from relevant fighters and celebrities with their reactions to the fight, and which stars made it to the arena that night. This piece caters heavily towards those interested in reading about celebrity news.
The Irish Times: Bittersweet Sympathy
The Irish Times, a publication based in Dublin, was more sympathetic towards McGregor than most of the North America-based outlets. Drawing similarities to the headline from TMZ, the Irish Times kept it simple, “Conor McGregor suffers broken leg in first round defeat to Dustin Porier.” The Irish publication mentions early in the article that although the fight took place on American soil, a majority of the crowd was cheering for the Irishman McGregor.
There was no mention of McGregor’s pre-fight antics, but rather a larger focus on his statements after the match towards Poirier, specifically how he believed he was “boxing (Poirier’s) head off” and that if he had to take it outside with Poirier in order to settle the beef, he would. Rather unrealistic considering how he couldn’t walk, but his words inspired energy in the Irish heavy crowd nonetheless. The biggest differentiator between this article and the rest is the vocabulary used. McGregor’s local paper described his loss as a misfortune, and that his leg “let him down.” Two photos are presented in this article, neither of which feature Poirier.
The New York Times: News for Everyone
The New York Times columnist Kevin Draper wrote a short six paragraph article summarizing the third Poirier/McGregor fight. Well-written, and simple to understand for a casual sports fan, Draper’s piece avoids using too much fight terminology when breaking down the lead up to McGregor’s freak accident. The New York Times’ quotes are all from Porier’s post-fight interview, but the article does acknowledge that McGregor immediately disagreed with Poirier’s assessment of how his leg was broken in the fight.
The end of this article focused on what could possibly be next for each fighter’s career in the UFC. Draper illustrated how he believed Porier’s career now showed more promise. He states that Poirier’s next fight is most likely for the championship, while McGregor on the other hand was “foundering.” The lone photo in this article is right under the headline, a clear, balanced shot of McGregor and Poirier standing at the center of the Octagon trading shots before disaster struck for McGregor.
