Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has declared his present UFC contract basically void following the promotion’s landmark broadcast cope with Paramount, setting the stage for contract renegotiations in February 2026.
McGregor made the assertion throughout a Roblox livestream along with his son and content material creator Caylus on January 18, claiming the elimination of the pay-per-view mannequin has basically altered the phrases of his present settlement. The Irish fighter, who has not competed since July 2021, stays beneath contract for 2 extra fights however argues the monetary construction underpinning that deal now not exists.
Conor McGregor Declares UFC Contract Void as Paramount Deal Ends PPV Period
“I’m going into negotiations with the UFC in February, and I’m very to go,” McGregor stated throughout the stream. “They really received a brand new cope with Paramount, which is value 7.7 billion {dollars}. So the corporate has 4x its revenue, and my contract basically is void proper now as a result of there isn’t any extra pay-per-view, whereas my contract was primarily based on pay-per-view gross sales.”
McGregor referenced his standing because the promotion’s highest-grossing pay-per-view attraction to justify his place. The 37-year-old has headlined 5 of the highest six highest-selling UFC occasions in historical past, together with UFC 229 towards Khabib Nurmagomedov, which generated 2.4 million buys and stays the most important pay-per-view in MMA historical past. McGregor reportedly earned roughly $50 million for that 2018 bout when PPV factors have been included.
The UFC introduced a seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights settlement with Paramount in August 2025, greater than doubling the worth of its earlier ESPN deal. The settlement, which begins in January 2026, shifts all UFC content material to Paramount Plus at no extra price past a month-to-month subscription payment, ending the normal pay-per-view mannequin that has outlined the promotion since its inception.
Beneath the earlier ESPN association, which averaged between $500 million and $550 million yearly, followers paid $79.99 per numbered occasion on high of an ESPN Plus subscription. The brand new Paramount deal offers a median annual worth of $1.1 billion to the UFC, with 13 marquee numbered occasions and 30 Struggle Nights streaming solely on the platform.
UFC CEO Dana White addressed the compensation shift in August 2025, confirming that fighter bonuses would enhance beneath the brand new deal however providing few specifics about how PPV factors would get replaced. “Bonuses are clearly going up,” White stated at a press convention following the Paramount announcement. “The low-hanging fruit that’s simple to reply? Bonuses are clearly going up. In order that can be massive.”
Whether the change in broadcast model legally voids existing contracts remains unclear. McGregor reportedly has two fights remaining on his current deal, though the impact of the Paramount agreement on contractual obligations has not been publicly detailed by the UFC or TKO Group.
Did Conor McGregor retire? McGregor’s Next Fight
McGregor indicated he is targeting the UFC’s planned White House occasion on June 14, 2026, for his return. President Donald Trump introduced the occasion will coincide along with his eightieth birthday and the 250th anniversary of American independence, with plans for an out of doors card on the South Garden that includes a number of championship fights.
The previous champion accomplished an 18-month anti-doping suspension in March 2026 after lacking three whereabouts exams in 2024. Fight Sports activities Anti-Doping lowered the usual 24-month sanction to 18 months, backdating it to September 20, 2024, citing McGregor’s cooperation and the very fact he was recovering from harm on the time of the missed exams.
McGregor’s most up-to-date look got here at UFC 264 in July 2021, when he suffered a damaged leg in a second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier. That occasion generated 1.8 million pay-per-view buys regardless of the result, underscoring McGregor’s continued drawing energy.
The UFC launched its Paramount period on January 24, 2026, with UFC 324 at T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas. The deal represents the primary main media rights acquisition by Paramount following its merger with Skydance, accomplished in August 2025.
Neither the UFC nor McGregor’s representatives have commented publicly on the precise authorized standing of his contract or the February negotiations.
