Conor McGregor has laid down the gauntlet to the UFC by claiming that he won’t return to the Octagon until he has been given an ownership stake in the organization.
“I was promoter on the Mayweather fight, and we’re in current negotiations,” McGregor stated during a Q&A in Dublin before the premiere of his new documentary, ‘Notorious’. “I ain’t stepping in that octagon again unless I’m part owner of the whole setup – I’m a promoter.”
McGregor also indicated that though the UFC are eager to have him fight again as soon as possible, that he’s under no financial pressure to return and so is going to bide his time and ensure he gets the best possible deal.
“They’re trying to get me back before the end of the year to make the company money so they can re-service the debt after the big $4.2 billion sale and all this bollocks, and I’m sitting there watching them type of wars I came through, back-to-back-to-back, and watching how I got there, and I’m like, I need to take my time here. I’m in no hurry. I’m in a great position. I’m in the forever money stage now. My money is up there rattling around in the money counter machine, so I’m good.”
With Dana White recently claiming that Mayweather Vs McGregor did a world record 6.7 million pay-per-view buys worldwide earlier this year, ‘The Notorious’ likely made in the region of $100 million from the blockbuster boxing fight and has expanded his business interests accordingly.
However, he now admits that though he’s certain he will fight again, when he does so it will require him to change the lifestyle he’s become accustomed to and get back to basics.
“I still love fighting.I love watching [the ‘Notorious’ documentary.]. I’m twitching watching all them shots being thrown. It’s just something I love to do. I don’t know what it is. I will fight again, no doubt, and I’ll fight multiple times. But when I do do it, I must eliminate all the outside stuff, because there’s so much business stuff, so much personal stuff, so much everything involved in an empire – running it, maintaining it, building it.
“You’ve got all these separate entities growing. I’ve got employees that have employees, and it’s all involved in this whole bubble. So if I truly get back and it’s time to fight again, I must distance myself.”
