It’s no secret that over his 15+ years as one of the owners of the world’s largest MMA organizations, that Lorenzo Fertitta was often a powerful force at the negotiating table. While Dana White took a lot of the public attention for his management of the UFC, Fertitta was instrumental in shaping the operations of the organization and in crafting many of its biggest deals. So it should come as little surprise that, while no longer majority owners of the now-WME/IMG promotion, Fertitta played a part in negotiating the boxing superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar recently spoke to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour where he credited Fertitta’s help in McGregor’s career (transcript via MMA Fighting).
“I think Lorenzo Fertitta has been instrumental in a lot of different ways in Conor’s career,” Attar said. “And yes, he was very instrumental in putting us together to really get everybody to talk and get on the same page when everybody started to see this was a real viable business proposition.”
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“I have a lot of respect for Lorenzo and I know he’s excited, but I think nonetheless this is something he’s very passionate about,” Attar said. “He cares a lot about the sport, he cares a lot about the UFC. And he cares a lot about Conor. It was really special for me to see that he was interested enough to try to at least to put all parties together so we can do good business.”
It’s good to see that Fertitta is still involved in helping the UFC get their bigger business deals made. Especially since, while Attar did reassure fans that McGregor “definitely wants to come back and compete again in the UFC,” McGregor’s return to MMA after a massive boxing payday has all the hallmarks of a deal that could need some careful negotiation.
McGregor vs. Mayweather is set to take place on August 26th on PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of yet, no other bouts have been announced for the card.
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