McGregor demands ownership stake in UFC: 'I want what I deserve'
Conor McGregor is looking to parlay his continued dominance of the MMA world into a new form of compensation.
After making easy work of Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Saturday night, becoming the first ever simultaneous belt holder with an impressive second-round knockout win, McGregor said his next fight is going to depend on what the UFC can offer up. This time, he wants more than the cash he's been raking in.
Along with the announcement that he and girlfriend Dee Devlin are expecting their first child in May, McGregor demanded at his post-fight press conference that he receive an ownership stake in the company.
"They've got to come talk to me now," McGregor said, via Damon Martin of FOX Sports. "Cause no one has come talk to me since the sale happened as a businessman. I've been approached as a 'hello' and that type of stuff but I've earned something. Who owns the company now? There's people that have shares in the company, celebrities, Conan O'Brien owns the UFC now. So where's my share? Where's my equity?"
McGregor has claimed on multiple occasions since the big-money sale that he's the reason the UFC was valued at an incredible $4.2 billion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he now wants to be rewarded as such.
"If I'm the one that's bringing this. They've got to come talk to me now, that's all I know," said McGregor. "I've got both belts, a chunk of money, a little family on the way. You want me to stick around, you want me to keep doing what I'm doing, let's talk, but I want ownership. I want an equal share. I want what I deserve, what I've earned."
Now that McGregor owns both the featherweight and lightweight titles, fight fans everywhere will eagerly be awaiting news on his next opponent. Which will he defend first? Is a third belt even possible?
McGregor says he won't be figuring any of that out until he gets what he wants.
"I've got a million other hurdles before I consider any of this," he said. "Whoever runs this who (expletive) now has got to come to me and give me the real slice cause that's what I've earned. I've earned this. Biggest gate. Biggest everything."
McGregor has now won all but one of his last 18 fights, pushing his professional record to an impressive 21-3.