Conor McGregor 'won't return to the UFC until April' at the earliest says John Kavanagh

[Sjb1888]

How much money is he gonna make sitting on the sidelines?

$500k a month....

 

[Kinger85]

just one title defense. That's all I am asking for.

 

[LockardTheGOAT]

$500k a month....

lol Compared to at least fifteen to twenty million or more in one night every time he fights...

 

[jban]

The UFC should have the balls to tell Conor- to either defend or vacate. If he does not unify the title by1st quarter- he should be stripped. Enough of these games.

 

[Sjb1888]

Piss off for thinking he's anywhere near Floyd's legacy. Floyd took on all comers at the end of the day and defended his titles for years. McGregor is in it for the money and it's just sickening at this point. I love the dudes fights but as a future hall of fame McGregors post aldo career has been disappointing. Strip him so the division can move forward, the UFC needs to move forward in general with the sport.

So many young fighters that are just as good as McGregor and don't receive any exposure at all. It may be apples and oranges a little bit, but I believe mighty mouses career reflects Floyd's a lot more. Both guys were told they were too small and had no personality so nobody would ever care about their careers, so their promoters refused to promote them. Floyd wised up and bought his self out of his contract and went solo and went on to become the most successful fighter in history financially speaking. Whether or not Mighty Mouse could make that sort of impact remains to be seen.

Y'all have no idea who Floyd is...?

 

[Sjb1888]

It's pathetic for Conor to even call himself a champ at this point.

A champ that does not defend is meaningless like a king without a kingdom. He reigns over nothing and noone gives a shit about his crown.

He is the most unproven champ ever. He has only one fight in the division.

Your logic is based on a formality and not the idea of a champion.

He doesn't call himself the champ....

It's Champ Champ.

 

[PeterGriffin]

That is correct but they have to keep offering fights. All they can do is make offers and if he refuses the offers, then the UFC is in the right. But they can't sit on his deal and make no offers to him for a fight. At the end of the day they will pay him what he wants..

Conor signed a multi-bout agreement, and has used his popularity to renegotiate after every fight. The UFC has accommodated him so far (in respect to the renegotiating), because it was financially feasible at the time for them to do so, and they had a plan going forward.

Just because they chose to, didn't mean they HAD to. They already have a signed contract in place, and they have every legal right to just continue on under the existing terms of that contract. Conor has publicly refused to fight again unless he gets a piece of the ownership pie. The UFC shouldn't be forced to give him anything above and beyond the terms of the original contract in order to have Conor honor the terms of an agreement he accepted.

The UFC has been more than accommodating with Conor (than any other fighter under their umbrella ever), and even allowed him to pursue interests outside the UFC (the Mayweather bout). Yes, the UFC did profit from it, but I highly doubt there weren't conditions set in place to prohibit him from just boxing and walking away. It would have been foolish and highly unlikely the UFC did not cover their own asses.

This is likely to turn into a battle of egos, and I don't see Conor winning that one. The UFC has to put their foot down sooner or later. It almost seemed optional to do it before, but now it's turning out like it is becoming a necessity.

 

[Sjb1888]

Strip this clown. He is clearly hoping that Tony loses or gets injured in that time span.

Why would he be hoping that?

Tony is the easiest fight available to Conor....

All the other options available are harder fights, only an idiot couldn't see that, and it seems i'm surrounded by them.

 

[delbosque]

The UFC has to strip this guy. Imagine where we'd be if the FW belt hadn't been stripped when it was.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

Conor signed a multi-bout agreement, and has used his popularity to renegotiate after every fight. The UFC has accommodated him so far (in respect to the renegotiating), because it was financially feasible at the time for them to do so, and they had a plan going forward.

Just because they chose to, didn't mean they HAD to. They already have a signed contract in place, and they have every legal right to just continue on under the existing terms of that contract. Conor has publicly refused to fight again unless he gets a piece of the ownership pie. The UFC shouldn't be forced to give him anything above and beyond the terms of the original contract in order to have Conor honor the terms of an agreement he accepted.

The UFC has been more than accommodating with Conor (than any other fighter under their umbrella ever), and even allowed him to pursue interests outside the UFC (the Mayweather bout). Yes, the UFC did profit from it, but I highly doubt there weren't conditions set in place to prohibit him from just boxing and walking away. It would have been foolish and highly unlikely the UFC did not cover their own asses.

This is likely to turn into a battle of egos, and I don't see Conor winning that one. The UFC has to put their foot down sooner or later. It almost seemed optional to do it before, but now it's turning out like it is becoming a necessity.

We essentially agree.. Yes he has a contract with the UFC, and if they want to drag this thing out all they have to do is continue to offer fights under the current contract and it is up to the fighter to accept them. That’s correct. I personally think the UFC will stop short of any type of co-promotion, because that is not a precedent they are ever going to want to set with anyone. Even him. But will they give him another massive increase in guaranteed salary? Absolutely. They want him back in the octagon. He is the biggest draw and star the company has ever known by a mile. They make insane money every time he fights. It is in their best interest to get him fighting again.

 

[dangerousD]

Why would he be hoping that?

Tony is the easiest fight available to Conor....

All the other options available are harder fights, only an idiot couldn't see that, and it seems i'm surrounded by them.

Yes the guy with a ten fight win streak in the toughest division of the UFC is the easiest fight.

If everyone around you thinks it's a tough fight and you don't.....maybe it's time to reevaluate who the idiot really is ?

 

[Sjb1888]

The UFC should have the balls to tell Conor- to either defend or vacate. If he does not unify the title by1st quarter- he should be stripped. Enough of these games.

What some people don't get is Conor wouldn't really give a fuck, it changes nothing from a PPV standpoint and would leave the UFC trying to promote a paper champ.

I'd have no problem with them stripping Conor's LW title, I just don't think it would be smart or be effective.

 

[Sjb1888]

Conor signed a multi-bout agreement, and has used his popularity to renegotiate after every fight. The UFC has accommodated him so far (in respect to the renegotiating), because it was financially feasible at the time for them to do so, and they had a plan going forward.

Just because they chose to, didn't mean they HAD to.

But see your missing something, from a good business point of view they did HAVE to, they would not have renegotiated if they didn't have to.

And the reason they had to keep cutting him a bigger slice is that no contract can force a man to fight, so it's either cut your nose off to spite your face and lose a fortune or come to new terms.

Being savvy businessmen they did what had to be done and came to a compromise, just as they will this time.

 

[PeterGriffin]

We essentially agree.. Yes he has a contract with the UFC, and if they want to drag this thing out all they have to do is continue to offer fights under the current contract and it is up to the fighter to accept them. That’s correct. I personally think the UFC will stop short of any type of co-promotion, because that is not a precedent they are ever going to want to set with anyone. Even him. But will they give him another massive increase in guaranteed salary? Absolutely. They want him back in the octagon. He is the biggest draw and star the company has ever known by a mile. They make insane money every time he fights. It is in their best interest to get him fighting again.

The big issue I see is the financial roadblock that's an inevitability to come. Conor will keep wanting more and more, and each time the UFC acquiesces it's coming out of their end, and there is a wall coming soon. It might even be here, because truthfully, none of us will ever know what the UFC's real expenses are when it comes to putting together an event.

Using loose estimates (I'll go with 1.5m buys at $55 (splitting the SD/HD pricing), the UFC PPV revenues are ~$82m. The broadcaster takes about half, leaving the UFC ~$41m for their end. With venue costs, marketing, insurance, flights and accommodations, fighter payouts, bonuses and other miscellaneous expenses, plus PPV points to the main eventers... the more they give Conor, they less they make on their end, and I believe there will come a point where they just can't give him any more.

Note that I'm not disagreeing about him bringing in sales and revenues, or that he appeals to a wide audience. I just see a point where the UFC has to say enough is enough (without having to give away the shop), and if Conor thinks he's entitled to "Floyd" money each time out, he's in for a surprise. If Conor tries to play hardball at the UFC's expense, I absolutely see them fighting to protect their own interests more than placating him.

 

[Sjb1888]

Yes the guy with a ten fight win streak in the toughest division of the UFC is the easiest fight.

If everyone around you thinks it's a tough fight and you don't.....maybe it's time to reevaluate who the idiot really is ?

No need, one of said idiots just popped their head up to reinforce my point.

Tony : Very hittable and lacks great takedowns.
Nate: Already lost to him and won a hard fought 5 round war in the rematch.
GSP: Best wrestler in MMA history, WW Goat and currently champion at 185(a full 40lbs above the weight that Conor had most commonly fought at).
Woodley: Powerful striker/wrestler who won't take any risks standing with Conor.
Khabib: Undefeated grappling wrecking machine.

Oh and by the way, I rate Tony very highly, not saying he's not dangerous, but for me he's the easiest out of those options.

 

[popwarnermma]

What's your point? Do you really believe they lost money year after year until Conor came around? Perhaps it's you that should avoid getting into business. The UFC can absolutely cut Conor and still make money.

The point is maximizing profits, especially when the WME just payed 4 billion for the UFC. How you can look at the PPV numbers and think they wouldn’t skip a beat without their biggest star ever is amazing.

 

[popwarnermma]

No need, one of said idiots just popped their head up to reinforce my point.

Tony : Very hittable and lacks great takedowns.
Nate: Already lost to him and won a hard fought 5 round war in the rematch.
GSP: Best wrestler in MMA history, WW Goat and currently champion at 185(a full 40lbs above the weight that Conor had most commonly fought at).
Woodley: Powerful striker/wrestler who won't take any risks standing with Conor.
Khabib: Undefeated grappling wrecking machine.

Oh and by the way, I rate Tony very highly, not saying he's not dangerous, but for me he's the easiest out of those options.

Agreed 100%. I’m not sure how the rest of this board can’t see this.

 

[TripTictonic]

I'm so over this dude. Just strip him, this is getting stupid. Any fanboy that defends this shit is pathetic.

 

[Cazador]

Lol.



This was probably decided wayyy before the supposed "punishment" of removing him from UFC 219.

 

[The Diplomat]

Remember when he was pulled from 200 and “retired?” Relax it’s all a negotiation tactic. Good thing you guys weren’t at the negotiation table. You all fell for it.

Between the Diaz and Mayweather fights, this guy has made more money in the last 2-3 years than just about every other MMA fighter combined. At this point it shouldn't be about the money. Is he a champion or not?