He rewrote history in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night but Conor McGregor’s subsequent demand for an ownership stake in UFC were met with less than enthusiasm from fans once the dust had settled.
“If you want me to stick around and continue to push the company, bring me on board for real,” he said at the post fight press conference.
“I need to be set for life from this.”
“If you want me to be truly on board, then I need to be all in on this proper, as an owner, and have an equity stake in the company. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The business was reported in the summer to have made a profit in 2015 of $157 million off revenues of a little over $600 million. That represents a 25 per cent profit margin and a healthy business with a doubling of the profit over 2014.
Company Sale
The sale of the company in September to William Morris Endeavour – International Management Group valued the business at over $4 Billion and also brought in a roster of celebrity investors including Tom Brady, Ben Affleck and Conan O’Brien that will raise profile ever more.
It’s a big step though for McGregor to demand a stake and blurs lines that have traditionally held firm between paying the talent and investing them in the business.
The danger with the latter is that the lifespan of any career in top level sport is fleeting in comparison to the value of a business.
Mohammed Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo have all done well from their performances, built an incredible legacy and built their sports to previously unimagined popularity and wealth but they did so as part of the continuum of the sports appeal, and never as shareholders.
Reaction
The reaction, particularly in the US, to McGregor’s claims were particularly dismissive with critics as well as diehard fans of the sport disputing his brash claims to being essential to the future growth of the sport.
“Guy is a tremendous fighter but he needs to just slow down a bit,” said one commentator on CBS Sports Online service.
“You’re never bigger than the sport you star in. NBA survives without Jordan, Golf survives without a dominant Tiger and the UFC will go on without McGregor.”
Uhh, Conor, a word to the wise,” added another.
“You are the talent not the management. You get paid to play and when your playin’ days are over lets hope you still have some money left. Remember, you’re only the champ until the next guy comes along.”
In reality it’s probably just a negotiation stance for his next contract.
Money and value have a way of finding the right level between those whose names appear above the bill and those who fund the staging of the event. Hollywood has built stars and an incredible business model but always keeping a clear line between the two.
If McGregor was to be ‘gifted’ a stake in UFC how would he feel in a decade about his investment being diluted by having to do likewise for whoever it is that takes his mantle as the star of the show in 2026?
