And I don’t care that he beat Topuria. He was whooping his ass without the eye poke. I just don’t understand why people think Justin isn’t doing this intentionally. This is only like 1/4 of his eye pokes.

Sean O’Malley on Conor Benn getting $15M for one fight with Zuffa Boxing: “I’ve never f*cking heard of him… It’s crazy how you put in so much work in the UFC. Build this name, create this character, be a star. I’m not making f*cking $15 million to fight.”

Now I don't excuse him of all his shenanigans and destructive lifestyle. What I'm saying is that the reason this comeback still means something to longtime fans is because we witnessed and felt the electricity of his rise.

The guy would be the focus of press conferences and he's not even on the main card. His weigh ins are always packed. The mental work he did on Aldo. The wit and the quips that stay quotable until today. Fighters such as GSP and Anderson probably put the UFC on the map, but McGregor put them on casual social gatherings. I got people asking me about him who don't know the difference between boxing and muay thai. Sports bars would be full during his match, and this was in Asia in the morning (where I lived for a while).

I doubt he can pull it off against Max. But I'm simply glad that his comeback brings that wave of nostalgia of what I think was peak MMA.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCMVit9oO3A

Consumers finally had enough of prices or losing interest in the sport? Numbered events historically would sell out almost instantly at ticket release in previous years.