There was almost too much McGregor gold in that interview with SevereMMA to digest in one go. The big takeaway is that McGregor has given a good indication that his future plans do include a move to welterweight and a shot at Robbie Lawler and the 170lb title.
A couple of months ago that would have been unthinkable but such has been the trajectory of McGregor's rise that beating Rafael dos Anjos is now an expectation and all eyes are on how the Dubliner can go even further following UFC 196. Taking that lightweight belt is anything but a formality of course but if we're to go along with what the man himself says his self belief is such that he'll 'keep going until fucking all the belts are wrapped up'.
And that's all well and good but the question has been asked, where does it end? At what point does the man outgrow the organisation?
A lot was made of Jeremy Botter's comments last month that McGregor's ultimate aim was to cut out the middle man, organise his own fights and let the money come straight to him. However, Andrew McGahon duly put that question to him yesterday (you can see the full interview below) and it's fair to say that the featherweight champ was not following that script.
It's all horseshit that is. I have a great relationship with Lorenzo and a great relationship with Dana. Don’t get me wrong, I’m climbing that corporate ladder every damn day and we will be neck and neck.
Maybe somewhere along the line I will take that lion's share. But we will always be together. Loyalty is what I have. They gave me this, they are helping me with this and I am helping them, we are a team, so much respect to Dana, much respect to Lorenzo, much respect to everyone involved in the UFC.
I’m not trying to break out, I’m just trying to grow, be eye-to-eye and get my share of the fucking pie and that’s it and they know that, I say that straight [off] the bat. I will always be in association with Zuffa and the great team at the UFC, it’s an honour to grow with this company.
As things stand, that's the only thing that McGregor could say. He's not one to suckle on the teat of authority for too long but he's certainly not foolish either. At this moment in time, the UFC certainly holds the strings. But it all comes down to this; 'we will be neck and neck. Maybe somewhere along the line I will take that lions share.'
Whatever they might say, the top brass at Zuffa and UFC simply can't see that and think 'sure, that sounds like something we'd like to see happen'.
There's only so much that can be said about the UFC's fairly piss poor pay structure but suffice to say, they're an organisation that's not inclined to be overly generous with their employees. And, as long as they're under contract, that's exactly what they are. McGregor included, for the most part.
To envisage a future whereby he's taking the lion's share and you're thinking about almost exactly what Botter was speculating. 'Conor McGregor's end goal is to promote his own fights. Now whether that is in conjunction with the UFC or 'McGregor Promotions', I do not know.' That's what the Bleacher Report writer had to say last month.
McGregor might say that the rumours of his departure are horseshit but if he's going to be taking the even 50% of what he brings in then he won't be doing it as a run of the mill fighter. For his part, Botter took to /r/mma today to answer some questions about McGregor's supposed denial of the story and it certainly makes quite a bit of sense.
And it would appear that a lot of this has to do with Croke Park. Speaking to McGahon, McGregor himself confirmed that after UFC 200, he'd be looking to the east coast of America with an Irish fight still very much on his mind. As has been stated countless times, the difficulty in organising Croke Park for a US PPV market would mean that it's something the UFC are inevitably going to oppose. However, it's a plan that McGregor has never let go of and if he is to promote his own fights, that's a fairly big incentive given the gate receipts that could be generated, something which Botter expanded upon.
It may not be quitting the UFC but if that 'lion's share' or even 50/50 parity is to come his way then things are inevitably have to change. Rocking the boat would do no one any good at this moment in time but McGregor's ambition is such that the UFC have got to know there's a bit of a battle coming down the tracks, particularly if we're going to get that Croke Park date that has been spoken about for so long.
