We finally have a reason that appears to explain Conor McGregor’s shocking and abrupt retirement announcement, and the UFC’s response of pulling him from a fight.
According to Charly Arnolt, McGregor wants around $10 million for his UFC 200 fight with Nate Diaz:
Source: Conor McGregor wants approx $10M for #UFC200–more than anyone else in past for single fight. #UFC said no, so he retired.
— Charly Arnolt (@CharlyArnolt) April 19, 2016
UFC 200 is scheduled to take place on July 9 in Las Vegas.
To recap, mid-day on Tuesday, McGregor surprisingly tweeted that he was retiring from MMA. The news came out of nowhere and nobody knew what to make of it. The UFC later responded by saying they had pulled McGregor from the event.
BREAKING NEWS: UFC pulls @TheNotoriousMMA from #UFC200. @danawhite on @SportsCenter now.
— UFC (@ufc) April 19, 2016
In a story written on the UFC’s website, the organization said McGregor was pulled for refusing to promote the fight by doing press events and commercial shoots. That made little sense since McGregor seems to be so media-friendly and happy to promote anything for the company.
This report about the pay dispute makes all the sense in the world. McGregor wants more money and will refuse to work in order to get his way. In response, the UFC will make it seem like McGregor is not cooperating. Simply put, this appears to be nothing more than a typical athlete pay dispute.
As one of the biggest faces and draws in the UFC, McGregor certainly is well within his rights to feel he deserves superstar pay. We wonder what the UFC is planning to pay him.
