Calm in the Chaos
I am a massive fan of the UFC. I watch almost every event and cannot get enough of its original content. Few main events in my fandom have excited me like UFC 205 – Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez.
UFC 205, held on November 12, 2016, was the first fight in New York City after the New York State Athletic Commission lifted the ban on mixed martial arts that had been in place since 1997. MMA fights in New York had been a long time coming, as the state was the last of the 50 to legalize and regulate the sport. The hype behind the fight was mind-boggling. Not only was UFC 205 the first event in New York City following the ban, but it took place at Madison Square Garden – The 'World's Most Famous Arena’. Fighters on the UFC 205 card had the honor of joining combat sports greats: Ali, Frazier, Tyson, Hollyfield, etc. of sharing the spotlight in The Mecca.
The fight was completely sold out, and generated a gate of $17,700,000, a UFC record that still stands. Beyond the prestige of the arena and the three title fights on the line, the sport's most famous athlete – McGregor – undoubtedly drove the hype. As the featherweight champion, McGregor was moving up a weight class to lightweight, attempting to become the first "Champ Champ" in UFC history.
After four fights on the main card, it was time for the moment fans worldwide had been waiting for. As the challenger to Alvarez, McGregor was set to walk to the octagon first. The arena fell dark for a moment, then as overhead lights circled the crowd and the green of Ireland was lit over the octagon, fans could hear the drum and fife opening of McGregor's traditional Irish walkout song: "The Foggy Dew."
""As down the glen one Easter morn to a city fair rode I
There Armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by
No pipe did hum no battle drum did sound its loud tattoo
But the Angelus Bell ’o'er the 'Liffey's swell rang out in the foggy dew""
Suddenly, the song changes as the stadium erupts with the vocals of 50 'Cent's "I Get Money” and McGregor begins his trudge to the octagon looking calm the entire way. He’s checked by the referee, climbs the set of stairs to the cage, and raises his fists to the crowd. In his mind, he’s already won. After performing his “billionaire strut” around the cage, he readies himself. Alvarez’s intro is next, the cage is closed, and Mike Goldberg’s classic “Here we go!” is heard as referee ‘Big John’ McCarthy drops his hands, signaling the fight to get underway.
Round one: McGregor is completely dominant, dropping Alvarez to the floor on three occasions and negating the wrestling of Alvarez with great defense.
Round two: the dominance continues, and three minutes into the second round, the fight is over after McGregor parries an overhand right from Alvarez and swiftly follows up with a four-punch counterattack that knocks Alvarez to the floor yet again.
Conor McGregor is now the UFC featherweight and lightweight champion. Champ Champ. The first in UFC history.
As stated, this was one of the most-hyped fights in UFC history, set a gate record that has withstood for four years, generated 1.3 million PPV buys, and was the first fight in UFC history where someone attempted to become a two-division champion. But for McGregor, none of that matters once he’s locked in the cage – it’s all irrelevant. He has one mission: sticking to his process (he’s one of the best counter-punchers in the game – it’s no coincidence that’s how he won) and experiencing success (a belt on each shoulder).
Great story, right?
But what’s the lesson here, and how does it relate to North Beach Holdings?
Calm in the chaos.
In the investing world, it’s easy to be distracted by the crowd and become caught in market mania. Currently, a lot is going on in the investing world, and for us, almost all of it is irrelevant noise. We couldn’t care less about Elon Musk’s Twitter account, his or anyone else’s position on Bitcoin or Dogecoin, the current crypto sell-off, Dave Portnoy and Safemoon, SPACs, SPACs of SPACs, NFTs, memestocks, the list goes on and on. Like McGregor in the cage, we have a vision for North Beach, and a process on how to get there—purchasing enduringly profitable essential service companies at reasonable prices. We, too, will be patient to ‘set up our shots’, and when the timing and opportunity are right, we’ll execute. And while closing a deal or purchasing a new stock is not as exciting as a highlight-reel knockout in Madison Square Garden on the biggest night in company history, for us it’s pretty damn close. We’ll stick to what we know – making intelligent business and investing decisions to better North Beach Holdings and our Owner-Partners.