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Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has some business advice for UFC CEO Dana White. And it primarily concerns the company’s biggest-named superstar, who hasn’t seen action in nearly three years.
Hearn advises Dana White to do ‘whatever it costs’ to bring McGregor back
Conor McGregor has been absent for a while now, and the sport has since moved on just fine. Yet, credit still goes to ‘The Notorious’ since no one has yet eclipsed the superstar status he’s achieved in the sport.
At 35 years of age with a much larger net worth, McGregor remains eager to make a comeback. And according to boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, the UFC – Dana White, in particular – should go to any lengths to make it happen.
“If it was me — and it’s not me, and Dana certainly doesn’t need my advice — but I’m bringing McGregor back, whatever it costs,” Hearn said in a recent studio appearance on The MMA Hour.
For Hearn, McGregor’s presence alone remains unparalleled.
“He injects an enthusiasm and a vibrancy into the UFC that no one else can. There is no one in the sport who can make it happen for the UFC and MMA like Conor McGregor.
“When he comes back, the press conferences, the build up, the value of the business, the ratings, the pay-per-view numbers [all go up].”
What does Conor McGregor want?
During his appearance at the Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder event in the Middle East in late 2023, McGregor expressed frustrations about how the UFC and Dana White supposedly treated him.
“Give me something,” he told correspondent Gareth Davies. “I was supposed to be back in April. It was supposed to be December (2023)!
“For all the figures I’ve brought in this game, I sold more than all of them combined, yeah!?” he said, with a vein almost popping out of his left temple. “I sold more than all of them combined. No one in the history of the fight game has ever been treated the way I’m getting treated this minute,” he vented, adding that his patience is ‘wearing thin.’
Hearn says he’s been talking to the Irishman, who is waiting for the ‘right’ deal.
“I still think he’s going to want the deal to be right. There comes a point where — sometimes you’ll do a show where you have to give them what they want, because it’s in the best interest of the sport and the business.”
How does Dana White feel about a Conor McGregor comeback these days?
It seems like the days of the UFC’s enthusiasm to put up a card headlined by Conor McGregor are gone. At least that’s based on Dana White’s recent statements whenever asked about it during press conferences.
Here was his response to a reporter’s question about a McGregor return after UFC 298 two weeks ago.
“The first problem was that he broke that shin bone. He was recovering from that. That was one of the reasons (for his delayed return)… The other problem is he’s f–g rich.”
“Conor McGregor doesn’t need money. Conor McGregor’s got a lot of money.
“Anytime we can get Conor, we’ll be happy. We’ll be thrilled when he comes and fights, but money complicates a lot of things.
In late December, McGregor announced his return date for June 29 against Michael Chandler at 185 pounds. Dana White, however, remains uncertain.
“Hopefully this year,” White said recently on the Pat McAfee Show. “There is no date. I’m hoping for the fall. [Hopefully] we get it done in the fall.”
McGregor’s last Octagon appearance happened in July 2021 at UFC 264, when he broke his leg and lost via TKO to Dustin Poirier in round one. His current record stands at 22-6.