Just last month, boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez scored a massive $365 deal with DAZN which will now see all of his fights aired on the streaming service for a low price of $9.99 a month.
And if Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mega star Conor McGregor was a free agent, he could demand the same. That’s according to Oscar de la Hoya, who says “Notorious’s” drawing power is one of the few in mixed martial arts (MMA) who can compare with boxing’s top stars.
“That’s the beauty of being free agents. If you have somebody behind you who’s looking out for your best interests individually, absolutely — why not? There’s guys out there who are phenomenal, phenomenal fighters. That can have those types of deals,” he said on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting).
“You take a look at Conor McGregor or you take a look at these fighters who are big, household names. Imagine if Conor McGregor was an independent contractor. He can easily get a deal like that on a DAZN or an ESPN+. But obviously they’re with UFC and UFC just works differently.”
Of course, Conor isn’t doing too bad with UFC, as he is currently the highest-paid fighter on the roster, and it’s not even close. Plus, UFC will have more money to go around now that it plans on getting rid of an entire weight class.
That said, if the opportunity to earn more cash is there, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fighter who would look the other way. Just ask Eddie Alvarez. But if “Notorious” ever wants to secure a deal like Canelo’s or Anthony Joshua’s, he will have to fight out his current contract with UFC, which as now been upped to six more bouts.