Quote: McGregor Could ‘Easily’ Command Canelo-Like Money In Streaming Deal
Streaming deals for fighters, such as the one boxing middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez recently signed, are changing the game.
Recently, Alvarez signed the biggest contract in sports history – a broadcast deal with the DAZN streaming service. DAZN now has the rights to broadcast the Mexican star’s fights. The streaming service has taken the combat sports world by storm.
They’re affiliated with the likes of Alvarez, English boxing sensation Anthony Joshua, and Bellator MMA. There have even been talks for DAZN to sign former middleweight king Gennady Golovkin. If mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters had similar opportunities to that of boxers, they could stand to make a lot of money.
Take Conor McGregor for example. Golden Boy Promotions’ Oscar De La Hoya, who helped land Canelo’s DAZN deal, spoke to Luke Thomas on “The MMA Hour” recently. He said that MMA fighters the caliber of McGregor could make Canelo-like money with a potential streaming deal (via MMA Fighting):
“That’s the beauty of being free agents,” said De La Hoya. “If you have somebody behind you who’s looking out for your best interests individually, absolutely — why not?
“There’s guys out there who are phenomenal, phenomenal fighters. That can have those types of deal. You take a look at Conor McGregor or you take a look at these fighters who are big, household names.
“Imagine if Conor McGregor was an independent contractor. He can easily get a deal like that on a DAZN or an ESPN+. But obviously they’re with UFC and UFC just works differently.”
