Succumbing to Dana White’s hard date of January 23rd for Conor McGregor to return, it appears as though the former two-division champ is set to return against Dustin Poirier. Or is he?
McGregor demanded a rematch with Poirier occur by the end of 2020. But with the last two UFC PPVs headlined by two title fights each, White put down his foot that he could not accommodate McGregor.
While some may have expected another obstacle in the ever-inclusive universe of complications from the Irish superstar’s return, McGregor seemingly accepted the date. However, the location may be something to discuss. McGregor proposed Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He then proclaimed that the Poirier fight would be a warm up to box Manny Pacquiao.
I accept, Jan 23rd is on!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 14, 2020
My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans!
Then Manny. #McGregorSportsandEntertainment
The other proviso seemingly is that he is looking to co-promote the event through his McGregor Sports and Entertainment company. McGregor’s acceptance tweet came with the hashtag McGregorSportsandEntertainment.
Payout Perspective:
This is all speculation until an announcement. Even then, you would want to wait until the fighters and the UFC agree on all points. While McGregor says in a tweet that he accepts the January 23rd date, he effectively counters the actual offer with a “counter” (i.e., location and co-promotion). This would negate an actual offer to fight January 23rd in McGregor’s eyes if White decides to move the fight to Abu Dhabi or at The Apex in Las Vegas. On the other hand, even co-promotion (something the UFC does not do) would be costly to put on Cowboys Stadium especially if they are still scaling back crowds to half capacity in January.
One would hope that McGregor had done research that Cowboys Stadium had an open date on January 23rd and that White was interested in doing something like this in front of fans. This would seem likely considering a gate that should draw well despite the pandemic and the restrictions on international travel. It would be prudent that White capitalize on McGregor’s drawing power and seek out a jurisdiction that will allow fans to return. A healthy gate could make up losses in live audience from 2020.
But this is all just the beginning since we are talking about McGregor who has retired from the sport several times and is eyeing a return to boxing to fight Manny Pacquiao.
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