Conor McGregor makes UFC contract claim as new broadcast era begins

Conor McGregor has claimed his UFC contract is “void” and due to be renegotiated, as the mixed martial arts promotion enters a new broadcast era.

Saturday will bring UFC 324, the company’s first event to stream live on Paramount+, after the UFC parted ways with ESPN at the end of 2025.

And McGregor has suggested that this new broadcast deal, which marks the end of the UFC’s pay-per-view (PPV) model, means he is due to renegotiate his contract with the promotion.

“They’ve got a new deal with Paramount... and my contract essentially is void right now, because there’s no more PPV, whereas my contract was based on PPV sales,” McGregor claimed on a live stream with Caylus on Sunday.

“I’m the highest-generating PPV fighter of all time [in the UFC],” the former champion continued. “The PPV system is done. I’m due a new contract.

“So, we’re going into negotiations in February, and I’m very interested to see how it goes.”

McGregor, 37, has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in a second straight loss to Dustin Poirier. However, the Irishman has long been keen on an in-ring return, and he has his eyes on the UFC’s planned White House event in June.

Yet UFC president Dana White has been non-committal. “We’ll see if Conor’s going to come back or not,” was his latest comment on the prospect of McGregor fighting on the South Lawn, while he was adamant that the former dual-weight champion will not face Michael Chandler.

“No, that was a couple years ago,” said White, referencing the fact that McGregor and Chandler were linked in 2023 and were close to fighting in 2024, only for McGregor to withdraw from the bout on two weeks’ notice due to a broken toe. White said last week he would “not entertain” McGregor vs Chandler.

Still, McGregor pushes for a return in the coming months, and he tweeted on Sunday: “The body of work I have put in to date, along with its depth, is timeless. I really feel younger and fresher than ever, and only still warming up. You will doubt me at your own peril.”

McGregor can not compete before April, with the Irishman currently serving an anti-doping ban due to multiple whereabouts failures. The 18-month suspension, which was announced in October, is backdated to September 2023, when McGregor recorded his third whereabouts failure.

With McGregor free to return in spring, however, and with White ruling out Chandler as an opponent, talk has turned to whom “Notorious” might face.

One name that has been mentioned in the MMA world is Jorge Masvidal, with whom McGregor was briefly linked several years ago.

Masvidal retired from MMA in 2023 after a fourth consecutive loss, and he has since boxed once, losing to old rival Nate Diaz – whom Masvidal stopped in the UFC in 2019.

“You never know, right?” the America, 41, told MMA Junkie last week, discussing a possible fight with McGregor. “I can say some big news. I have some fight news coming soon, and it’s very big news. I can’t deny or confirm what you just said.

“You’ve got to just let the chips fall where they may, but definitely some big news headed towards the MMA community. Combination of things. I can’t... Some of it is like, level 5-only access, so I can’t really say too much, but I am training for something big, I can say that.

“I can’t deny or confirm any of that right now, but maybe hopefully soon I can. I don’t know, I would want to say soon – like, maybe 10 days, something like that, I should have more confirmation on it.

“I wouldn’t mind getting out there and f***ing doing my thing on the White House. That’s the only fight I come back for [...] I’m [US president Donald] Trump’s favourite fighter, that’s all you’ve got to keep in mind. Just remember that at all times.”