Conor McGregor claims to have pocketed a whopping sum of $20million from the UFC despite his last fight being in 2021.
Back in October, a Nevada judge issued a preliminary approval for a $375m settlement to conclude the first of two antitrust lawsuits against the UFC. A month prior, the UFC’s parent company, TKO Group, and the plaintiffs in the Le v. Zuffa case agreed to settle a class action lawsuit.
Judge Richard Franklin Boulware II approved the terms, ending the decade-long litigation. A hearing for final approval were to be held in the coming months and the final payout to several fighters involved would be calculated after legal fees are paid. In 2014, a group of current and former MMA fighters filed a Class Action lawsuit against the UFC and its parent company Zuffa, LLC. Cung Le, Nathan Quarry, Jon Fitch, Brandon Vera, Luis Javier Vazquez, and Kyle Kingsbury were all the representatives for the lawsuit.
The claim was that the UFC ‘used improper strategies to dominate the market for MMA fighter services, allowing it to pay its MMA fighters less than half as much as they otherwise would have received.’ On Wednesday night MMA Journalists Association president Josh Gross took to X, posting: “Many fighters covered by the class-action settlement haven’t provided contact information at http://UFCClassAction.com. Judge Boulware has not issued his final order yet, but it’s coming. When it does, claim forms will be sent out in 60 days followed by a 45-day deadline to sign.”
In a separate post, Gross wrote: “The plaintiffs passed along a list of fighters who have not reached out with their info. In hopes of contacting every class member, they asked to make this public.” The list contained well over 400 names, and McGregor’s was one of them.
The Irishman shared his response to the news on social media, posting: “A handy twenty. #thanksforthecheese.” McGregor – a former dual-weight champion in the UFC – hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in the trilogy defeat to Dustin Poirier back in 2021. He was due to take on Michael Chandler last year, but was forced to pull out of the contest after picking up an injury in training.
The 36-year-old has been tipped to make his UFC comeback this year, but it seems as if if he’s already preparing for life outside of the Octagon and is eyeing up a move Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship – a promotion in which he part-owns. Speaking at a recent BKFC press conference in Italy, he said: “Yes. Yes. The warrior spirit burns strong inside me,” he said. “For sure. If you think I’m up here giving these speeches and leading these men into battle and I won’t step in there myself, think again. For sure. Conor McGregor will fight in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship – mark my words.
“I’d like a world title in this company. I would wish to be the Bare Knuckle world champion. That is a significant belt to hold in your career. Nobody from boxing to mixed martial arts can speak nothing bad on a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship world champion. So for sure, I’d be coming in looking for the world title.”
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