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Conor McGregor faced Dustin Poirier in one of the biggest MMA events of the year. The two fighters fought their trilogy fight at the main event of UFC 264. People from all around the world were really excited to see how this epic trilogy will end.

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The fight, which would last only 1 round, was entertaining till it was on. In the end, Poirier was declared the winner as ‘Notorious’ injured his leg towards the end of the first round and could not continue. Following this victory ‘The Diamond’ is all set to challenge for the title. However, the big question is that what will McGregor do next?

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Following his loss at UFC 264, McGregor has called out Poirier for a 4th fight. However, many believe that this injury and getting his 3rd loss in his last 4 fights means McGregor should retire. While the probability of McGregor retiring is very little, it still is a possibility that haunts many of his fans.

However, if McGregor decides to retire, the biggest setback will come to the UFC. McGregor is the undisputed king of MMA and is the most popular UFC star in history. ‘Notorious’ is also the most profitable star for the UFC, so much so that the top 5 most sold UFC PPVs in UFC history are of McGregor fights.

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Read More: “Talk is Cheap” – WWE Legend Iron Sheik Sends a Harsh Message to ‘Jabroni’ Conor McGregor

Therefore, this begs one question, that if McGregor decides to retire. Does the UFC have any other fighter that can take the place of the ‘Irish King’?

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Can Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman or Amanda Nunes sell PPVs as much as Conor McGregor?

While the UFC has a plethora of fighters who are very well known across the globe. The point is simple: there is just one Conor McGregor. Love him or hate him, one cannot deny the fact that people pay to watch McGregor fight.

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A UFC PPV that has McGregor at the helm, is bound to do business in access of a million. Whereas there are very few other fighters who even get close to that type of record. The UFC 251 event featuring Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman did do 1.3 million in PPV but it was a rarity.

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Fighters like Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal, and Jon Jones can bring in huge PPV numbers. But they are nothing compared to what ‘Notorious’ does. And while there are many future stars like Sean O’Malley who many consider being the next Conor McGregor. He is still very young in his UFC career, and only time will tell where he can reach.

Watch This Story: Event Recap: Best Moments From UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3

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Therefore, we can say by past records and just facts, that the UFC does not have a star like Conor McGregor. And if ‘Notorious’ does retire it will be difficult for UFC to find a fighter who can do over a million PPV business constantly.

Do you think Conor McGregor will retire following his UFC 264 loss? Lets us know in the comments.

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Written by

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Paras Pande

657 Articles

Paras Pande is the Editorial Ops Lead at EssentiallySports. Prior to joining ES, Paras gained expertise as an MMA writer whilst working with Sportskeeda. A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, he covered UFC for 3 years before becoming an Editor.

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