The Savage Truth: Is UFC 194 the Turning Point?

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is in the midst of their strongest year in half-a-decade if recent reports are to be believed, but if you don’t think there are a few in the company’s executive suite who aren’t wound up a little tighter than normal heading into Saturday night’s UFC 194, you might be a little delusional. Coming off a hugely successful pay-per-view card from Melbourne of all places, you would think the year’s final pay-per-view event would be all gravy right?

Wrong.

A funny thing happened Down Under: the golden goose of the UFC and combat sports was unexpectedly beaten down in unforgettable fashion before having scores of “fans” turn on her. And, while I’m certain Ronda Rousey will be back to make another run, it is natural to wonder what her golden-egg laying potential is should she come up short in a rematch with Holly Holm.

Enter Conor McGregor.

The brash Irishman has been nothing short of spectacular in his rise to the top perch in the mixed martial arts world. In the cage or out -- it doesn’t matter -- he shines brighter than any other star currently making a living by socking people in a cage. Sure, in similar fashion to Rousey, he’s rubbed a lot people the wrong way in his meteoric rise so it isn’t hard to imagine him suffering a parallel fate as his female counterpart should he succumb to pound-for-pound stalwart Jose Aldo.

Now let’s be clear: this isn’t a “sky is falling” type cautionary tale. The UFC has had an amazing run this year, but if you don’t think it is more difficult to sell pay-per-views without the type of mega-stars both Rousey and McGregor have become then you’re deluding yourself. Rousey has become a PPV juggernaut in 2015 and McGregor hasn’t been too shabby himself. Their personalities and in-cage dominance have been the driving force in reinvigorating what had been a sagging market.

So, it goes without saying, should Aldo roll the hegemonic Irish featherweight up one has to wonder how those two losses will affect the company’s bottom line heading into 2016. Make no mistake: UFC 193 was a massive moneymaker for the promotion and I have zero doubts 194 will come close or even top it. These kinds of events are only possible because of the star power their headliners bring to the equation. When you look across the organizational landscape it is hard to find anyone else sans Jon Jones who, at this point anyway, has the potential to crossover the way Rousey and McGregor have.

The situation gets a little more dicey when you figure in the fact that Rousey looked totally unprepared in her title-losing effort and McGregor seems poised to make a jump up into the even deeper and more dangerous lightweight division sooner rather than later. There are no guarantees or, as I would argue, even any plausible routes for either of these superstars to find similar levels of the success they’ve enjoyed over the past couple years.

I know Rousey has undertaken an unbelievable and apparently unsustainable burden upon her shoulders in cultivating her in-and-out of cage careers. It is obvious that extra weight has taken a toll, but with that said, it is also apparent that her celebrity will make it extremely difficult to eliminate any of those distractions going forward. Add in the truth that, according to her mother, she is surrounded by “yes men” and has a head coach who literally zero people in the industry believe is qualified to lead her camp, and you don’t exactly have a recipe for a return to the top for Ronda.

McGregor is in a completely different position, but is faced with a similarly difficult path. He has exceeded all expectations to this point, but the competition continues to get more and more difficult and it will ratchet up even more once he moves up to 155. He is a really big 145 pounder; that advantage will be lessened in a big way once he moves up in weight.

He has joked about how small his opponents have been, but he will be hopping from a pool full of very dangerous sharks into one full of nothing but great whites. While I’m sure he will be competitive with some of the guys at the top of the division, I don’t think it is a stretch to think he will have trouble sniffing the kind of success he has had thus far.

While I think it is likely McGregor would have a rough time at lightweight, it would be hard to look at his run and not appreciate what he has accomplished. The same goes for Rousey.

Before either of these extremely talented athletes embarked on the runs that made them the household names they are today, thet were just another name and face. They took advantage of media opportunities, leveraged their talent with hard work and established themselves as two of the most marketable fighters in the sport.

The fact that we got two bigger-than-life personalities that can actually fight at the highest levels was an amazing thing in, and of itself. We’ll see if Rousey can author one of the redemption stories we all love so much and whether the other can remain atop the summit for a while longer this weekend.

Either way, with the cyclical nature of combat sports, it will all happen again. And again … and again.

Greg Savage is the executive editor of Sherdog.com and can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.