The meteoric rise of Conor McGregor’s mixed martial arts career has pitted the Irishman as a household name amongst the combat sports world. But nobody anticipated that the former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder would become renowned for his business accolades.
From a small-town boy in Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland, collecting benefits whilst working a job as a plumber, to a multi-millionaire business owner and the most prolific fighter on the planet. The dreams and aspirations of Conor McGregor couldn’t have been predicted, but his predetermined mindset was always going to garner success.
The Birth of Proper Twelve
June 14th, 2017, the Irish MMA superstar selected the most idealistic moment to reveal his Irish whiskey brand. Following the second-largest selling pay-per-view event in American sports history, McGregor swung his arms in a brash and cocky manner as he entered the post-fight press conference stunting an extravagant suit and sunglasses. With a bottle of whiskey in hand, “I’ll put my whiskey down,” McGregor said whilst lifting the bottle to salute the millions of fans tuning in, to then announce, “Notorious Irish Whiskey: coming soon.”
While securing a $100 million paycheque after one night’s work, revealing his whiskey brand to the combat sports community was nothing short of marketing genius; however, it would take another twelve months before McGregor’s whiskey hit the store shelves.
When referring to sports and odds, the market boom in MMA gambling was thanks to Conor McGregor and the popularity he’d generated towards The Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts in general. When comparing most UFC related business models or ventures, McGregor will be forever engrained as a pioneer for sports athletes of the future. But in September 2018, when Proper No. Twelve shipped to Ireland and the U.S.; he began to solidify his position as a businessman not only in MMA but anywhere he wanted to take it.
Two years down the line, in July 2020, Tequila owner and Proper Twelve shareholder Jose Cuervo increased their stock options from 20 to 49%. This gave McGregor’s brand a valuation of £200 million, an astonishing figure to generate within 22 months of shelf life.
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Celebrity backed start-ups have been a common approach since the birth of stardom, but there aren’t many examples who’ve stood the test of time. And although it’s still early days, the official launch of Proper No. Twelve was far from a dart-throwing attempt; behind McGregor’s star power is his manager Audie Attar and Ken Austin. Businesses men with valuable experience co-founded the company, Austin stemmed from the E&J Gallo and Seagrams alcohol industry.
Ken Austin realised that branding, packaging, and the whiskey itself would need to be flawless, but McGregor’s star power initially drew him into a collaboration. He was the man to approach McGregor and Attar, knowing precisely what it takes for a celebrity spirits brand to succeed.
Who else other than McGregor could perfectly slide into an Irish whiskey company and propel it to unforeseen heights, the UFC fighting phenomenon who celebrates his fighting accomplishments whilst dropped in the country’s flag; the man who oozes Irish culture when delivering Gaelic phrases in media appearances; and the celebrity fighter whose entrance music walking to the cage blasts out a Sinead O’Connor cover from an infamous Irish rebel song?
“If you were going to look up Irish whiskey in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Conor McGregor there because he epitomises what being Irish is,” Ken Austin went on the record to say.
Proper Twelve Reaches £500 Million
Forbes wasted no time in adding Conor McGregor as the highest-paid athlete of 2020, and he will seemingly keep that position at the end of 2021.
Proximo Spirits, the subsidiary of Jose Cuervo tequila proprietor Becle, reached another milestone In their Proper No. Twelve business ventures. Earlier this year, they agreed on a long-term arrangement to keep McGregor promoting the brand he was once co-owner of but had ultimately become the majority shareholders by acquiring McGregor’s Eire Born Spirits for upwards of £500 million.
“I founded Proper No. Twelve less than three years ago and today, it has become a shining star in the spirits industry,” McGregor commented.
“This agreement is exciting for my partners and me, and the potential is limitless! Our vision is for Proper No. Twelve to continue its incredible growth worldwide and to keep bringing new consumers to the now-reinvigorated Irish whiskey market,” he added.
Only Getting Started
From state benefits to a company worth half a billion, McGregor’s fighting career, life, and business endeavours will be the vocation documentaries of the future, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
McGregor is halfway to becoming a billionaire to the all-seeing eye, but alternate investments and brands that he owns haven’t reached their peak.
It’s taken the Irishman less than five years to generate a substantial net worth; who knows what the next five will hold.
