Conor McGregor has signed a new six-fight deal with the UFC, president Dana White told ESPN on Thursday.
Terms were not disclosed, but White said the deal could make McGregor the most money in the sport, especially given his pay-per-view appeal. The six fights include the matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on Oct. 6.
White initially told ESPN that the new contract was for eight fights but later corrected himself and confirmed the deal was for six fights.
White said pay-per-view buys for UFC 229, in which McGregor will be fighting Nurmagomedov for the world lightweight championship as the main event, were trending toward 2.5 million buys. The record for a UFC event is 1.6 million buys, for McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.
“It’s not hard to do a deal with Conor McGregor because we know what he’s worth,” White told ESPN.
The deal includes McGregor’s new whiskey, Proper Whiskey, as a sponsor in every UFC event in which McGregor fights.
2:09
Dana White reflects on the “darkest press conference” he’s taken part in, featuring genuine dislike between the two fighters.
“You bet your bollocks it is,” McGregor said when asked if the logo of his product will have a presence in the Octagon. “On the canvas. On the canvas. Like [Nurmagomedov’s] blood will be on the canvas.”
UFC 229 will mark McGregor’s return to the Octagon after nearly two years. His last fight was a second-round TKO against Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. He was stripped of the lightweight belt because of inaction, and Nurmagomedov took the title over on April 8 with a win over Al Iaquinta.
In May, UFC agreed to a five-year deal that will bring the mixed martial arts league’s entire rights package to ESPN beginning in 2019.