Conor McGregor raised a whole lot of eyebrows when he suggested his price for a White House fight was $100 million. That’s not a number anyone, not even the biggest star in the sport’s history, is likely to get out of the UFC. But in a new short interview, “The Notorious” explained that he’s not really dealing with the UFC this time around … he’s dealing with the U.S. government.
“I’m not negotiating on behalf of myself for this fight like usual,” McGregor said at last night’s BKFC Manchester event.
“I’m negotiating with the United States of America on behalf of Ireland for this fight. So it’s a peculiar one. But Trump and the administration have been fully supportive and backing, and I cannot wait to put on a show.”
While specifics are cloudy regarding how big McGregor’s recent purses actually are, the Mac himself has claimed he made $100 million fighting Floyd Mayweather and predicted an $80 million purse for his fight against Donald Cerrone. So $100 million seems in step for a Conor fight of this magnitude, when you take into account whatever inflation the Irish sports star applies to his paychecks in public.
$100 million is also right around the rumored number that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez made to fight Terence Crawford just weeks ago in a Saudi-funded fight promoted by UFC CEO Dana White. No one in boxing even blinks any more at those numbers, given Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets. We have to wonder now if McGregor is hoping to become the first fighter to receive a similar pay bump thanks to U.S. government money.
The UFC’s big America 250 event is set to land in Washington D.C. at the end of June, one week before the 4th of July. According to Dana White, the promotion will move International Fight Week from its home in Las Vegas to D.C. where it expects over 85,000 fans to watch the White House card on screens from President’s Park.
It’s undoubtedly going to be the biggest event the UFC has ever held, but will parent company TKO be okay with allowing one of their fighters to make so much money considering their entire business model is predicated on an 80/20 split going their way? We still have several months to go before the UFC even starts booking this card in earnest. We’ll see how negotiations between McGregor, the UFC, and the U.S. government develop.
