How Bad Blood Leads to Big (Athlete) Brands
STEP 1: RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF A RIVAL
Let me ask you this: prior to Conor McGregor, how many of Floyd Mayweather’s opponents can you name? Despite the fact that Mayweather is often considered to be, pound for pound, the greatest boxer of all time, you can probably only name one other foe: Manny Pacquiao. Why? Because of the rivalry. Because of all the hype built up outside of the ring prior to the fight. Among traditional boxers, that level of contention did not exist for Mayweather beyond Pacquiao, and the numbers show it. All of that prefight drama worked. According to Business Insider, the fight between the two adversaries “shattered expectations by tens of millions of dollars,” thanks to a record 4.4 million pay-per-view buys.

We love rivalries, and rivalries build brands. Fans and the media can’t get enough of them. Conversely, if it’s not a rivalry, if there isn’t a little bad blood, we don’t care. Every single one of you has a rival, but we only care about a few of them. Pick one and make us care.
“…if there isn’t a little bad blood, we don’t care.”
Work together and throw some shade.
STEP 2: BUILD YOUR OWN RIVALRY
When it comes to rivalries, if one doesn’t exist, create one. That’s the situation Mayweather found himself in post-Pacquiao, having run through boxing opponent after boxing opponent. He was so successful and so good at what he did that it literally became boring to watch. Not even the outlandish claims he made on an almost weekly basis could stir fans or the media anymore. He was right. He was the best. And it really wasn’t close. We agreed and moved on to something a little less certain, like the UFC.
Insert Conor McGregor.
Legendary WWE commentator Jim Ross described McGregor, an MMA icon, as “the perfect heel.” In professional wrestling, a “heel” can be defined as a villain or bad guy that the crowd loves to hate. Ironically, what tends to happen with antiheroes like McGregor is, as they continue to have success, those fans who once hated them begin to love them with just as much fervor. From posing in front of a Lamborghini wearing nothing but underwear and sneakers to threatening to break Floyd Mayweather’s face, McGregor became the Muhammad Ali of the MMA world. That’s where the fun begins: two of the greatest self-promoters the world of sport has ever seen together in one epic war of words.
It started as an innocent response to a question posed to McGregor by Conan O’Brien on his talk show, in which the fighter was asked if he would ever consider fighting Mayweather in a boxing match. McGregor replied, “If you’re asking would I like to fight Floyd Mayweather — I mean, who would not like to dance around the ring for $180 million?” That response ignited what would become the hottest conversation in both boxing and mixed martial arts.
This was no accident. In fact, Mayweather himself admitted to starting rumors of a potential fight between the two. “The rumors that y’all been hearing is the rumors that I started. It may not be a rumor.” Gasoline, meet fire. We call that a tactic in the business. Mayweather is not simply a phenomenal boxer; he’s also very much aware of the power of marketing and has used it to build his personal brand throughout his career. If he were not such a great fighter, he’d have taken my job years ago.
“…he’s also very much aware of the power of marketing and has used it to build his personal brand throughout his career.”
More so than other sports, fighting, whether that is MMA or boxing, is almost entirely about hype. When the Michigan and Ohio State football programs get together at the Big House, the hype is built in. That blood has been boiling for over a hundred years, no buildup necessary. But before McGregor answered what was nothing more than a hypothetical question posed by Conan, there was no rivalry. The idea did not exist. What you see here is the epitome of manufactured conflict, and it worked to perfection. The Mayweather-versus-McGregor storyline is reality television meets the WWE.
Athletes Are Brands Too
