Truckin’ on

CONOR MCGREGOR, also known as “The Notorious” and “The Dublinator”, is a mixed martial arts star and a big draw for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest mixed martial arts promoter. A recent McGregor fight in Las Vegas fight drew 16,000 fans with a $7.2m live gate and 1m pay-per-view buys. The sport has come a long way from its early days when eye-gouging was permitted. Once described by John McCain as “human-cockfighting”, it is now mainstream and immensely popular. Millions of Americas happily pay $59.99 a go to watch top fights on pay-per-view television. In 2013, one of the owners of the UFC bragged to your correspondent that it was the world’s most valuable sporting franchise.

Mr McGregor reportedly earned $500,000 (not including bonuses or sponsorships) for a recent bout. But most UFC fighters make decidedly less. The median pay per fight is $24,500, and most pugilists get in the ring only a couple of times a year. Some fighters think the muscle of a union might help them get better pay and more say. Earlier this month, the Teamsters, along with a local culinary union, announced that they intended to help fighters organise.