Conor McGregor signs new 8-fight deal with UFC

Conor McGregor and the UFC are back on good terms.

McGregor has signed a new 8-fight deal with the UFC, Dana White confirmed to ESPN. White told ESPN that making a deal with McGregor is easy because they understand his value.

“It’s not hard to do a deal with Conor McGregor because we know what he’s worth,” White told ESPN.

Those who watched McGregor’s UFC 229 press conference with Khabib Nurmagomedov on Thursday noticed an interesting prop that played a big role in the event. McGregor brought a bottle of his new whiskey, Proper Whiskey, and was drinking it throughout the event. He also said that the whiskey’s logo would be on the canvas as a sponsor during the fight.

According to ESPN, the inclusion of Proper Whiskey as an official sponsor for all of McGregor’s UFC fights is a term of the contract.

McGregor’s Twitter page has been a factory of promotion for the new product. He even tried to create some buzz by telling fans they could attend Thursday’s press conference if they brought a bottle of his whiskey (no fans actually attended the event).

The ticket for entry is a bottle of @ProperWhiskey.
2 bottles and you skip the Q to the top.
My soldiers will be outside making sure this rule is strictly adhered to.
Radio city Hall. UFC 229 Press conference.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 19, 2018

The whiskey promotion aspect of the deal seems to be an important one for McGregor. He is the UFC’s biggest attraction, and he hadn’t fought for them in nearly two years, leading him to being stripped of his title due to inactivity. There were questions about whether the UFC could give McGregor the type of pay day he was seeking, with White openly questioning McGregor’s desire to continue fighting.

Promoting McGregor’s whiskey allows them to provide a second stream of revenue beyond his standard pay for fighting, which could make stepping back into the Octagon worth McGregor’s while.