How Conor McGregor Uses the 48 Laws Of Power

I have been intrigued by this Conor McGregor phenomenon. Personally, I haven’t seen an athlete explode in popularity the way that he has. The fact that he somehow managed to secure himself a one hundred million dollar boxing match also interested me. Conor is talented; however, many other fighters are talented. They, however, have not managed to even get anywhere close to his position. My conclusion is that a great deal of strategy must have been used by him in order to get to the position that he is in right now.

I have created this list of the ‘Laws Of Power’, that he frequently uses. VideoPost

Law 6: Court Attention At All Cost

Unlike many other fighters who choose to blend in with the roster, Conor likes to stand out. He stands out intentionally in order to draw attention to himself. He understands the game of power. In the UFC it isn’t just about your athletic/fighting ability, it’s about how much money you can draw in for the company.

Many fighters choose to ignore this fact and complain about not being given the proper credit (Tyron Woodley comes to mind). Conor embraces it and attempts to court attention at all cost. He does this in the following ways:

• Flamboyant clothing (he often wears high-end clothes, bright colours, and anything that stands out)

• Loud Mouth (he tries to be the loudest person in the room in order to draw the attention)

• Antics (Throwing bottles at the Diaz brothers, to grabbing Aldo’s Belt during the press conference)

The game isn’t about being liked by other fighters, or even by the fans, the game is about having people constantly interested in you.

Law 16: Use Absence To Increase Respect And Honour

At the highlight of his MMA career after securing a belt in two divisions, Conor decided to fuck off for a while. His reasoning being that he was anticipating the birth of his first son. This might be true, but I don’t think this was his only reason. His decision was a calculated one. He left in order to increase respect and honour. When you leave something, especially when you have established yourself, you leave people talking about you.

People love things that are scarce or limited edition; this is due to the ‘scarcity’ cognitive bias. Leaving at the time that he did also effectively held two weight classes under siege. The fans would never truly accept whoever was given the belt if they did not beat Conor for it. This increased his price, allowing him to leverage his power to help secure the Floyd fight.

Law 31: Control the options get other people to play with the card you deal

Watch the video for a funny example of him using this law: Example

Law 29: Plan all the way to the end

It is not uncommon for Conor to predict the outcome of his fights. Many times he has predicted accurately the round, and method by which a fight would end. People have started calling him ‘Mystic Mac’ due to his accuracy. He has not done this due to mysticism; he has been able to do this because of careful planning. It is no secret that he studies his opponents extensively. He has mentioned how he pays attention to body language and many other subliminal cues that people reveal. Having collected all the data he can then plan his training accordingly.

This planning does not stay within the ring. When the heat of the Floyd fight started rising, he swiftly attained his boxing license before the fight was confirmed. Proper planning is something many fighters lack, to be successful in any venture you need to become a strategist who is well versed in this law of power.

Law 28: Enter action with boldness

Robert Greene (author of the 48 laws of power) explains this law wonderfully.

“If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honours the timid.”

This is the law of power that Conor embodies, entering action with boldness. It is easily one of the reasons that he has helped him gain immense popularity. People admire the bold, you might hate him, but a part of you respects him for having this characteristic. This law works well in regards to intimidating your opponents. There is something on a primal level that is unsettling about people who do not show signs of fear.

Imagine someone who was physically smaller than you, trying to start a fight with you. If they were bold enough, chances are you would feel intimidated. You would ask yourself questions such as, ‘Why are they so sure of themselves?’ ‘What are they hiding up their sleeves?’

Those are my top 5 laws of power that Conor uses. If you have more, post them below.