If you think Conor McGregor has got too big for his boots, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
The Irishman’s rise through the ranks to become the UFC’s biggest banking fighter has been nothing short of meteoric.
The man is worth his weight in gold to Dana White’s organisation – and McGregor knows it – after his last fight broke Pay Per View and gate receipt records.
His lightweight superfight with champion Rafael Dos Anjos on March 5 looks set to get even bigger – and could net the Notorious $8m.
But when you look at the fact that Floyd Mayweather earned $32m from his final fight against Andrew Berto which took less than half the PPV numbers, the Dubliner probably thinks he’s being short-changed.
If McGregor does the business against RDA to become the UFC’s first champion to hold two belts at once, his already-huge profile will go stratospheric – as will his financial demands.
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Some believe this could shift the balance of power in McGregor’s favour. It could mean the 27-year-old simply becomes ‘too big’ for the UFC – and leaving the fold to promote his own fights just as top boxers like Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya have.
The featherweight champion has already set up McGregor Sports and Entertainment, a company he registered back in 2014 after the Diego Brandao fight.
But now Bleacher Report journalist Jeremy Botter, who broke the news about the RDA fight, believes it’s only a matter of time.
‘Conor McGregor does not plan on being in the UFC for very much longer, he said.
‘I don’t know if it’s going to be this year or next year but Conor McGregor’s end goal is to promote his own fights. Now whether that is in conjunction with the UFC or ‘McGregor Promotions’, I do not know.
‘He’s not going to fight in Croke Park with the UFC. The UFC is not going to run Croke Park. He has been telling people that he will run (a fight in) Croke Park when he’s out on his own.’
McGregor has come good on every other promise and prediction he’s made, so we’re not about to start doubting him now.
You can listen to Botter’s entire interview here – this part is at 9:08.
