Conor McGregor's current relationship with the UFC is at its lowest ebb in quite some time, with Dana White giving the final confirmation that McGregor would not be appearing at UFC 200 earlier today. Furthermore, White was evidently exasperated with McGregor earlier this week after the Dubliner sent a totally false tweet claiming that he was back on the card for 200. However whilst irritated at McGregor's antics, White has dismissed the idea that the Dubliner would not compete with the UFC again and it is likely we will see McGregor back making money for Lorenzo Fertitta and co. in an octagon before the end of the year.
This last week of acrimony has once again brought into focus McGregor's fraught relations with the UFC, and there has been a general feeling for some time that McGregor will at some stage seek to break with the UFC to promote his own events, thereby exponentially increasing his wealth. While any damage between McGregor and the UFC caused this week does not seem irreparable, it has not prevented rival companies from attempting to exploit the discord between fighter and company. Karim Zidan of bloodyelbow.com has flagged reports in Russia that claim promotional company Eurasia Fight Nights made McGregor a sizeable offer to compete in one of their events in June:
McGregor received a formal offer from the promotion. @from_safonov confirmed the news with Mirzaev.
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) April 27, 2016
We do not know the full details of Conor McGregor's contract with the UFC, but it is almost certain it prevents him from fighting under the banner of rival companies, going by the details of Eddie Alvarez' leaked contract, of which more details can be found here. While McGregor is highly unlikely to accept this offer from Russia, it is indicative of the incredible prospect he is for companies looking to break the stranglehold of the UFC. The Russian company who have approached McGregor here have made previous attempts to take on the UFC, as Zidan accentuated later:
For those asking how Fight Nights can afford $2mil purse for McGregor,their main investor wanted to purchase the UFC https://t.co/Mv0qWS07WE
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) April 27, 2016
This is instructive of why McGregor believes he can go to war with Fertitta's company, McGregor is one of those rare commodities: he is valuable to everyone, even those that don't have him.
