Conor McGregor told ESPN’s Kenny Mayne, in the network’s trademark “Sunday Conversation” that he is in the midst of a $100 million deal with the UFC. In the interview, he opened up about the “retirement” tweet, the UFC and Floyd Mayweather.
Conor McGregor tells @kenny_mayne that he's in the middle of a $100 million contract with the UFC.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 22, 2016
Whether or not you believe this to be true, the deal is likely the biggest fight contract for a UFC fighter in the company’s history.
Assuming what McGregor is saying is true, the deal is likely for 8 fights which would amount to approximately $12.5 million per fight not including any PPV upside or other performance-type bonuses.
The interview includes talking about the “proposed” fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and the Irish MMA fighter. The latest in that saga is Mayweather offering $50M to McGregor. In his ESPN interview, McGregor proclaimed that Mayweather needs him, not the other way around.
Payout Perspective:
I would suppose that McGregor and the UFC would be working on a new contract (or revising the old one) which would mean more fights and more money. I also think that the contract would be much more in-depth and detailed than your standard boilerplate contract with the UFC. Namely, it would detail the terms of his promotional schedule.
The subtle thing here is that McGregor is giving ESPN’s Kenny Mayne this exclusive interview and not Fox or FS1 doing this. Obviously, it would be more advantageous for ratings if FS1 were to do this interview rather than ESPN. But, as we’ve seen, when big news occurs for the UFC, ESPN is the first to report.
Crazy if he really believes himself at this point. Ufc doesn’t need him, he’s already suffered losses.
The UFC doesn’t need anyone. But in business you pay 10 million for 25 million all day long. That profit is what deals are made of and business doesn’t let personal beef or things like “deserving it” get in the way.
One wonders if this is a smart move on the part of the UFC…..he recently lost, and lost by submission early. He could easily lose his next fight if its with Diaz again. If he loses 2 in a row, his drawing power is absolutely shot. The casuals wont care how much he talks, and its the casual money that he brings in. On the other hand, if that happens, he loses out with a guaranteed 50m pay day with mayweather plus a percentage of the ppvs which would be immense.
But then again, its about time that the UFC rewards its big draws with the money they deserve. To be honest, only the ufc die hards are tuning in without the likes of the DW blonde hype jobs like McGregor, Rousey, and the attempts to create more with northcutt and van zant.
It could be a bad deal for the UFC but I think they wouldn’t do it if they didn’t have a plan. I can see potential in that deal. Especially if the deal gets them rights to his earnings in a match with FMJ. Beyond that Conor has value in his second. What I mean is he has lost and all his next 3 big match ups are bad fights for him. But like others once he takes that loss and gets knocked down the ranks. He will get weaker opponents and rise right back up to the top with. A few more big fights and a chance to be champ again. There is a bump in the road but there is value on the other side.
Fellas how many times in baseball and football do you see a big star get signed and then become a bust after their contract is signed? if he had won his last fight it may be different, but we’re talking about someone coming off of a loss that wasn’t even a close decision or debatable.
If true, amazing that UFC would offer him such a contract coming off a loss, but that speaks to McGregor’s drawing power. But if he loses again upon his return, things will be interesting.
Hahaha…its the mayweather effect….good for mcgregor….so all ufc fighters would now ask for a raise…ufc potential buyer would now panic…..ufc signed a lot of fighters and now all will ask for a raise,if they dont get it,then its bellator…hahaha
Good for the whole industry haha
Conor should be looking to reduce his contract obligations, not increase them. Especially if he wants to be in the “Conor McGregor” business, whatever that is.