During his recent appearance on FOX Sports Live, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta spoke about Conor McGregor, claiming the Irish mega-star “moves the needle” and is paid handsomely as a result.
“At the end of the day, it’s a business,” said Fertitta. “[The] guy can literally drive numbers from an entire country. When Conor fights the entire country of Ireland shuts down. We get like a 60 share of the TV market there. Over 11 percent of the tickets sold in Las Vegas were from Ireland. He moves the needle on Pay-Per-View. He headlined his first event in Ireland, did a $1.4 million gate.”
Fertitta continued, “Of course, we’re going to reward guys that are successful in the Octagon and have a lot of wins and things like that, but if you can be like a [Georges St-Pierre] or be like a Brock Lesnar, who people are now comparing Conor to with the excitement that he’s bringing, then you’re going to have the ability to potentially drive a little bit harder of a negotiating bargain because you do bring that to the UFC.”
McGregor was paid a disclosed amount of $150,000 for his first-round TKO victory over the top-ten ranked Dustin Poirier at UFC 178.
Check out Fertitta’s appearance on FOX Sports Live at the top of the page.
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