McGregor wants to be 'a true partner' with UFC before return

If Conor McGregor is to lace up his gloves again, the UFC will have to sweeten the pot.

At the Wednesday premiere of the documentary "Notorious," the lightweight champion stated he wouldn't be returning to the Octagon unless he was given a piece of the company and allowed to wear the promoter's hat.

"We’re in the contract negotiation stage," McGregor said, according to MMA Fighting's Dave Doyle. "It’s got to, they’ve got to entice me now because, I came from a billion-dollar fight. I want equity, I want pay-per-view. I want to be a true partner. You have to entice me now. I want to be a partner. I want to be a promoter and I want to be a fighter for me to continue."

McGregor has made these aspirations known before, most notably calling for a piece of the UFC pie following his coup of then-lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 last November. The Irishman hasn't graced the cage since, instead facing Floyd Mayweather in a blockbuster boxing match for a career-best nine-figure payday in August.

As for who he aims to face in his return to action, both he and his camp have begun leaning toward a date with newly crowned interim king Tony Ferguson, although he hasn't ruled out another walk to the ring, nor a rubber match with his greatest rival, Nate Diaz.

"We’ll see. We’re in the process of negotiations, there’s a couple of opponents across different sports now in play, there’s the boxing game also."