VIDEO | Conor McGregor Says UFC Must Become ‘True Partners’ With Him For Next Fight

It seems like forever since Conor McGregor dominated Eddie Alvarez at UFC’s history Madison Square Garden debut, then hoisted two world titles above his head. Infamously screaming that the double champ does whatever he wants, McGregor went on to prove just that by boxing Floyd Mayweather. Even losing, McGregor catapulted his already gargantuan brand to new heights, while pocketing more cash than he’s ever had before. It left us all wondering just what he would do next. Tony Ferguson seems to be the front-runner in all of this, but Conor McGregor has some familiar demands.

“We’ll see. We’re currently in contract negotiations. There’s a couple of opponents, of course, different sports now in play with the boxing game also clawing to get me in. So, we’re in the contract negotiation stage. They’ve got to entice me now, because I came from a billion dollar fight. They’ve got to entice me with something. I want equity, I want ownership, I want partnered, I want to be true partners with the UFC similar to the way I was with the Floyd [Mayweather] fight.”

Witness the unstoppable rise of one of the most iconic stars on the planet. Visit https://t.co/TKpBTGiuFV to find out more. pic.twitter.com/pWJc4zrbdA

— Notorious: The Film (@McGregorFilm) October 5, 2017

“I was the promoter and I was the fighter. That must continue in order for me to continue. I’ve got many other entities and many other interests that can carry on. Also, I’m already set for life. So, they must entice me but we’re in negotiations. I’m certainly love to fight, I certainly have a belt to defend, I’m certainly interested in that and we’re in negotiations.” — Conor McGregor to the media at the premiere of his film Notorious. 

In his appearance earlier this year in Glasgow, Conor McGregor said his next fight would have to be in association with his own sports entertainment company. All of this just triples down on his now prophetic comments back at UFC 205. Bottom line, McGregor wants a piece of the pie. He looks and sees the drastic spikes in numbers when he’s on a card with his name attached to it and feels that gives him the leverage to request higher and higher demands. Perhaps the scariest thing about it all, is that he’s right.

“I’m happy to come and continue to do what I’m doing. I’m the highest paid already, but when I look at what you’re taking in, and I look at the list of what they’re bringing. You want me to stick around and pay off that debt, bring me on board. I need to be set for life as an owner. An equity stake in the company. That’s what I’m looking for.” — Conor McGregor at the UFC 205 post-fight press conference.  

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/1/2017.