When Dana has been asked about Conor fighting this year after covid hit he has repeated Conor's "retired" comment and been sort of stone faced about the whole thing.
My guess is Dana would have rather seen Conor take UFC fights that would continue to build the UFC brand.
Yeah the UFC gets a nice cut letting Conor go box but thats less UFC fights he will have and it does little for the brand.
Conor returning to the UFC after going 0-2 in boxing is not the best look.
If enough UFC stars went to boxing for cash grabs... UFC fighters 0-10 record vs boxing stars in boxing is not a good look for the UFC brand in the casual sports fan world.
If Conor can make 100m+ and Dana doesnt have a fight lined up and Conor wants to fight, not like Dana can say much. It makes sense, keeps Conor happy and Conor gets to fight winner of Khabib/Gaethje in the spring.Â
all the fighters sign a 360 deal with the ufc. similar to the deal that the wwe has with their talent also.
they are promoted and marketed by the ufc machine. in exchange they have to kick back the ufc for anything they do outside of the ufc that makes alot of money. they dont really bother with the small deals but large ones they will always want a piece of.
if one of the fighters became a huge action star actor they would also take a piece. they have veto power over them doing anything outside of fighting as it could be deemed dangerous to their fighting career even stunts.