UFC had a pretty good year in 2015 with fights between Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey. There’s a chance the UFC could bring back all three in 2026, but booking its biggest superstars would likely put the promotion at 0-3.
First there was Ronda Rousey fighting Gina Carano for Jake Paul’s MVP promo on Netflix. She said UFC CEO Dana White offered her an incredible pay-per-view deal that would have allowed her to fight for the UFC again, and then the Paramount+ deal was done, ending the PPV. now? “It’s really in their best interest not to put up the best fight possible, but to spend as little money as possible so they can sustain it,” Rousey said.
Now we have Jon Jones, who begged to be put on the UFC White House card but was instead replaced by Cyril Gayne, who will fight Alex Ferreira at ‘Freedom Fights 250’. White said Jones had never considered this card and even said Jones was retired. Jones was left asking, “Am I released from the UFC?”
UFC’s last superstar, Conor McGregor, appears. “The Notorious” also begged to be in the White House, but the UFC wasn’t willing to lose the $20 million+ McGregor would generate to put him in the White House. Instead, there are reports that he will be assigned to the International Fight Week card in Las Vegas on July 11th.
“No,” White said in his postgame press conference. “But we’re definitely talking to Connor.”
He later said, “I don’t have a date with Connor right now.” “It’s not even close.”
McGregor has been demanding for the past three weeks to be sent a contract with nothing to show for it. He explained his discussions with the UFC in a recent interview with Chael Sonnen.
“’Well, we’ll offer you this match.’ ‘Yes. No problem. ‘I accept it,’ McGregor said. “Every day. ‘I don’t have any problem.’ ‘I’ll send you the contract.’ ‘It’s great. This is a really good matchup. That’s a really good matchup. All I heard was, ‘That’s a really cool matchup,’ and I didn’t hear anything. And that’s where I am. “I’m still in this limbo.”
“Audi [Attar]My manager is in Las Vegas for an in-person meeting on Monday. I hope a respectable proposal is made. I am notorious for being a very easy person to deal with. I am an honest person. I respect fairness. “I’m confident we can do it.”
To be honest, we are not very confident. Will the TKO bean counters that control the UFC allow a promotion to pay a fighter like Conor McGregor what he’s worth? If they’re willing to pass on Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones, why should we expect them to strike a new deal with Conor McGregor? At this point, they seem perfectly content to keep him on the sidelines so no one can book him. What fair negotiations can happen if the UFC has no incentive to negotiate?