​A lot has changed in the UFC since Conor McGregor last fought in July 2021, including the promotion’s broadcast deal. The UFC left ESPN for Paramount+ to kick off 2026, ending the company’s longstanding pay-per-view model for its biggest events. Before the Paramount era, champions and main-event fighters on UFC pay-per-views earned an additional slice of revenue through “pay-per-view points” that depended on viewership numbers. As the highest-paid fighter in UFC history, McGregor was expected to be most affected by the removal of those pay-per-view points from the financial framework.
Those changes were anticipated to present an extra hurdle in assembling McGregor’s comeback, which unfolds against Max Holloway at UFC 329 this Saturday. Speaking in-studio in Las Vegas on Wednesday, McGregor’s longtime manager, Audie Attar, acknowledged on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that the contractual negotiations were difficult to navigate. “We’ve not necessarily always had an easy path, but we’ve always done good business, and that’s something I’m proud of. I don’t need [UFC] to like me, but they’re going to respect the business, and that’s what it’s about,” Attar told Uncrowned. “It definitely was challenging in terms of, ‘How do we do this in this new era without pay-per-view?’ You can talk about, ‘He’s been out.’ It doesn’t matter. This is still an entertainment business, and the KPIs [key performance indicators] of those businesses have shifted. So he’s still, as a famous man once said, ‘Everybody thought he was toast, but he’s still the bread.’ Ultimately, that was our position in the negotiation.”
Attar credited the UFC. “Is it where I want him to go in terms of market value? No, but [the number we landed on is] multiples over anybody in the UFC, including Zuffa Boxing — multiples. It’s a historical number.” He added that “the UFC definitely moved way more than they ever have, and probably wanted to,” but viewed the overall outcome as a win-win because McGregor fighting on Saturday night, July 11, and winning would accelerate the path to the next bout sooner than the April date he had mentioned.
McGregor, 37, indicated on “The Ariel Helwani Show” last month that his final two fights on his current UFC contract were slated to occur with Holloway this weekend and again in April 2027. The timing surprised many, given the long gap between appearances. Attar clarified on Wednesday that the April date is more of a time limit than a fixed mandatory fight date. “For us, it was really just trying to make sure that we don’t get into a situation where gamesmanship is played,” Attar explained. “A lot of the negotiations were focused on maximizing the economics, but then making sure we could get him active. He wants to compete. So why hold him back? It’s a benefit to all parties involved that he is active.”