Whatever Conor McGregor demands, Conor McGregor gets. Or at least it seems that way.
Following his historic (and near flawless) win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, the two-division champ was almost immediately tasked with answering a flood of questions about what would be next for him; would it be a shot at Tyron Woodley’s welterweight title (which Joe Rogan likes his chances of winning, FWIW), a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz (which his coach has suggested), or a rematch with Jose Aldo at featherweight (LOLOLOL)? The possibilities were nearly limitless.
But ever the savvy businessman, McGregor instead announced that he wouldn’t be fighting again until he received a “real slice” of equity in the company he has made such an unprecedented success over the past couple years.
“I mean, who owns the company now?” asked McGregor.
“People have shares in the company, celebrities. Conan O’Brien owns the UFC nowadays, so where’s my share? Where’s my equity? If I’m the one that’s bringing this, they’ve gotta come talk to me now.”
While we’ve yet to hear of any arrangements being made between McGregor and the UFC brass, it seems that one such celebrity has already stepped up to the plate: Mark Wahlberg.
Speaking with TMZ this morning, the I Heart Huckabees and Planet of the Apes star said that he’d be willing to offer McGregor a piece of his shares in the UFC so long as he “cut the check.”
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“He is the face of the UFC right now. He deserves that,” said Wahlberg while sporting a Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code-esque hairstyle that I can only pray is for an upcoming role. “He’s a hustler like me, so there’s probably a lot of other opportunities for us to go out there and make money together.”
When asked about the potential of putting McGregor in one of his movies, Wahlberg said that McGregor was “a movie waiting to happen,” which I suppose was meant to be taken as a compliment.
Obviously, it’s too early to tell if Wahlberg was just blowing smoke or if he’s actually serious about bringing McGregor into the fold, but in either case, it looks like it won’t be long before the newly-crowned lightweight champion is stacking bills that make his recent paydays look like chump change. Power to him, I say.
