Conor McGregor has one fight left on his current UFC contract, but one former champion says the promotion would be better off just letting “The Notorious” walk.
As of now, McGregor won’t return to the Octagon until next year. That’s because the UFC cash cow got a brutal knee injury against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in July. McGregor waited five years for his Octagon return and it all went down in flames. UFC in the bank a a record-setting goal for the event, but fight fans were hugely disappointed, to say the least.
With that in mind, UFC matchmakers may be hesitant to book McGregor for another high-profile fight. Not only because he could be injured for the third fight in a row, but also because they have to pay him more than any other fighter to compete. “The Notorious” is by far the highest paid fighter in UFC history, and every time he fights in the UFC, he must surpass millions. When the dust settles, the promotion is sure to kick back tenfold, but it’s still a chump to throw at an aging fighter past his prime.
Earlier this week, former two-time UFC champion Henry Cejudo suggested that the UFC might be better off releasing McGregor from his current contract and letting him become a free agent. McGregor has already done that revealed his plans to experiment with bare-knuckle boxing after his next UFC fight, that the promotion would simply be getting ahead of the inevitable while saving a lot of money.
That is, of course, if the promotion truly believes that McGregor will leave after his next UFC fight.
“Now it’s up to the UFC to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to pay you this much because you’re worth this much. I guarantee, I’ll tell you right now, I even see the UFC just letting him go based on what he got,” Cejudo said on his recent show. Pound 4 pounds podcast with former UFC champion Kamaru Usman.
“They might be like, ‘Hey, you know what?’ You have one fight left. We don’t think you’re worth it. You are a free agent.
“If I’m a businessman and I want to keep a lot of my money and I like Conor, f… Conor. I would cut him. I swear I would because if they give him $30 million and they don’t have to give him $30 million, especially with this big Paramount deal that they have and Paramount has to make their money, let him make money elsewhere, but let him do more free agency. Make money or take money from us.
“There’s no pay-per-view model anymore and this guy hasn’t won the fight. Just the business aspect of it.
“Pretend I’m Dana White, you know what I’m doing? I say he’s got one fight left, his last fight wasn’t even a fight. He lost again. Just let him go with a loss in the UFC. Let him start his career.
“Let’s not pay him what he’s worth, which is $30 million. I believe he got $30 million in the fight against (Max) Holloway. That’s what he generated before. No more pay-per-views.
“It’s not because, ‘Oh, Conor McGregor is doing it, give us more money.’ Those contracts are already said and done.