Eddie Hearn says UFC should pay ‘whatever it costs’ to get Conor McGregor back into the cage

Eddie Hearn believes the UFC should do whatever it takes to get Conor McGregor back in the cage.

For nearly a year now, one of the biggest stories in MMA has been McGregor’s possible return to action. Absent from MMA since snapping his leg in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in 2021, McGregor has been linked to a number of possible return dates over the past 12 months, most recently when “Notorious” himself said that he will be back in June to headline International Fight Week. But UFC CEO Dana White disagrees, recently saying that McGregor won’t be back in the cage until at least the fall and suggesting that the former two-division champion is content to sit on his many millions instead of fight again.

But Hearn, who has a relationship with McGregor, doesn’t buy that, saying that this is all part of the negotiation process.

“I talk to Conor quite a bit and [I believe he wants to fight],” Hearn said Monday on The MMA Hour. “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. Maybe I could make more money on a small show than I do promoting Canelo Alvarez, but what does it mean to my business? What does it mean to DAZN? What does it mean to my reputation with fighters and my opportunity to sign young Mexican fighters coming through?

“In many instances, you take a bath to deliver. 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. 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].”

Hearn is CEO of Matchroom Sports, one of the biggest boxing promoters in the world, and has worked with many of the most notable combat sports athletes on the planet, including Canelo Alvarez, Anthony Joshua, and Katie Taylor. Hearn agreed with the assertion that McGregor is the biggest draw in combat sports, and said based on his experience in the promoting game, he believes that White and UFC would be best served to accept less money if it means getting McGregor back, because the other benefits can’t be quantified.

“So what I’m doing — and it again, it comes back to Canelo,” Hearn said. “It’s no surprise with these guys, and over the years with [Joshua], it starts off on a percentage, it goes down, but that’s just what happens when someone is earning a huge amount of money.

“But what AJ has done, not just for British boxing but for Matchroom, he’s helped build our business as a boxing business and as a sports business by having one of the biggest stars in the sport align with our company and our corporation. So for me, I’m on the boat with Conor and I’m talking until I get it done. I’m reaching a deal.”

Hearn also acknowledges that’s easier said than done. McGregor has historically been a tough negotiator and does not need to continue fighting.

But in the end, Hearn believes the juice is worth the squeeze.

“He will be hard work, Conor,” Hearn said. “Don’t worry about that. [He’s worth it.] A legend. Great self-promoter. I don’t know if he’s still got it, but you put him in with someone that he’s got a good chance of winning [against].

“But what he can do for UFC — but sometimes when you talk about major corporations, like TKO, that level, maybe there’s [headbutting], ‘This is the deal.’ And that’s what happened with Ngannou, really. ‘Take it or leave it. This is your money. You won’t get anything like this.’ And off he went. ... He secured the bag. But for Conor, whatever it takes, I’m bringing him back, because he can do what nobody else can. And he knows it.”