Is actually a legit well written article, I’ve been pretty critical of all the rest but credit where credit is due.
Couldn’t find the thread for the article so made a new one.
Sauce?
Elias Cepeda -Sauce?
I'm lost?
kingj03 -Elias Cepeda -Sauce?
I'm lost?
Haha just a UG inside stupid joke - "source?" is a common refrain for claims made, and that has made it's way to "sauce?" which kinda sounds like "source" but with an accent. I was messing, like, "I don't believe you, what's your source?"
Aaaaannyway:) Thanks for reading, and post a link to the story, homie!
Elias Cepeda -kingj03 -Elias Cepeda -Sauce?
I'm lost?
Haha just a UG inside stupid joke - "source?" is a common refrain for claims made, and that has made it's way to "sauce?" which kinda sounds like "source" but with an accent. I was messing, like, "I don't believe you, what's your source?"
Aaaaannyway:) Thanks for reading, and post a link to the story, homie!
I understood the UGism just took me a while to get it in the context.
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/why-conor-mcgregor-deserves-to-be-a-ufc-owner
I ragged you a ton for the last two (maybe three?) articles but fair play this one is pretty good.
kingj03 -Is actually a legit well written article, I’ve been pretty critical of all the rest but credit where credit is due.
Couldn’t find the thread for the article so made a new one.
Damn I just started a thread about this article, sorry dude I didn't see yours. VU for getting there first
Elias Cepeda -Sauce?
Haha
Curloftheburl -Elias Cepeda -Sauce?
Haha
The more threads the merrier ha! And thanks for the link, OP!
With so many deserving contenders in both divisions he’s champion of, it has been all too tempting for fans and pundits to set off this week guessing which fighter Conor McGregor will match up against, next. Will Conor face Jose Aldo at featherweight, next, or will he look to take on either top lightweight contenders in Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz, or will he jump up in weight once more to take on new rival Tyron Woodley?
If you’ve been wondering about these types of questions, save your energy. McGregor let us know who is in his sights immediately after he beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship, Saturday, at UFC 205 – the UFC itself.
He did it immediately after earning his second world-title belt, after realizing that the UFC was not prepared for history and didn't have it for him to pose with after he stopped Eddie Alvarez. “Where the f*** is my second belt,” he shouted to the world on television, while patting his featherweight strap. “$4.2 billion this company was sold for – where’s my second belt? Go backstage and grab that motherf***ing belt, somewhere. Get the f*** out of here!” he ordered UFC officials.
They did as they were told, and Tyron Woodley did his part to help.
“I’ve already got this one. Where’s the second one at? Cheap motherf***ers.”
After surprise victories past, McGregor’s elation usually appeared to melt away months of tension as he celebrated with wide smiles on his face. This time, McGregor looked more agitated than ever, after winning, ready for his next knockdown, drag-out scrap – against his bosses.
The scene was a far cry from that Jan. night in Boston a lifetime ago when McGregor talked about serving up the heads of opponents for the pleasure of his then-bosses Fertitta brothers, and toasting expensive whiskey with them, after he beat Denis Siver. These days, the UFC is no longer family-owned, and McGregor isn’t concerned with pleasing his promoter – he wants them to worry about keeping him happy.
That in-cage tirade preceded McGregor’s subsequent announcement at the post-UFC 205 press conference that he had “outgrown” his current UFC contract, and that he would not fight again without getting some equity in the UFC. Those paying attention to his career will remember that he’s repeatedly spoken of this goal, throughout the years.
Now, that aspiration has become a demand.
McGregor’s equity demand may initially sound a bit nutty, but only because it hasn’t yet happened at the top level of the closed-off, embryonic sport of MMA. In fact, Conor’s equity demand is quite reasonable and has plenty of precedent.
In boxing, it has become common for the biggest stars and draws to become co-promoters of their fights, sharing more fully in the wealth they create. Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are just a few recent examples.
Within the UFC itself, its new ownership – WME-IMG, which manages many Hollywood A-listers – has shown an eagerness to bring in their celebrity clientele as part owners of the fight promotion.
McGregor is keenly aware of that, and even cited one such new UFC co-owner, talk-show host Conan O’Brien, to illustrate how ludicrous it seems to him that he himself shouldn’t share in the UFC’s growth at least as much as a comedian who hasn’t done anything to help the promotion. O’Brien reportedly is joined by actors Mark Walhberg and Ben Affleck and others as UFC co-owners, in this new age.
McGregor’s own cachet is fast-approaching that of folks like those, and his drawing power is beyond anyone else in the UFC. Taking into account how frequently he’s fighting and how monstrously successful pay-per-views he headlines are selling, McGregor is making more money for the UFC than any other single person in it.
UFC commentator, and the man holding the microphone as McGregor cursed his bosses last Saturday, Joe Rogan, agreed on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, that the Irishman isn’t off-base with his demanding UFC ownership equity.
“He’s got an argument that he should probably get a percentage of the promotion. Because, what they’re selling is Conor McGregor,” Rogan reasoned.
He’s right. UFC president Dana White said that UFC 205 broke “every record,” that the company had.
Of course, that would mean that it broke the records set earlier this year by McGregor and Diaz at UFCs 196 and 202. Let's keep in mind that, as filled with amazing talent as it was, the only person on the UFC 205 card who is known to anyone other than hardcore fans of MMA is Conor McGregor.
The point is, McGregor carried UFC 205, promotionally. McGregor is topping himself, as an earner for the UFC, with each subsequent fight, and making his new owners even more rich than he is making himself.
Now, he’s bigger than ever before - bigger and more profitable than any other fighter in UFC history, actually. The UFC reportedly shares a smaller percentage of their revenue with the athletes who make it possible than other professional athletic leagues do with their athletes, who had their shares negotiated by their associations and unions.
That is to say, neither McGregor nor any UFC fighter likely gets their fair share back from the UFC revenue they are responsible for. Of course they don’t – unlike other top professional athletes, UFC athletes do not bargain collectively as a part of an association or union.
Conor McGregor is at the point where he’s selling more pay-per-views within a year than Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather do. Yet, he doesn’t make as much for doing it as Pacquiao does, or share ownership in his events like Mayweather does.
“Notorious” isn’t crazy in saying he deserves to have equity in the UFC – he’s just aware of his worth and that many others who are not the singular drawing phenomenon that he is, are nonetheless making more money than he.
As the biggest star in the world’s fastest-growing sport, McGregor is well-positioned to insist his demands be met. If the proud Celtic warrior has the guts to stand his ground, it will be interesting to see how things play out.
He’s asking the UFC to make him a true partner. Right now, they don’t even consider him a full employee, because of their dubious designation of all their athletes as independent contractors, despite the expansive and restrictive requirements placed on them.
The UFC’s old majority ownership, brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta of Zuffa, have always been resistant to labor organizing, with the UFC and with their Station Casinos. They’re gone, now, but their friend and Donald Trump supporter Dana White is still the promotion’s president, and he’s still anti-labor.
The UFC’s new owners, WME-IMG, are quite used to working with clients who are members of unions, associations, and guilds, however. They have yet to send clear and broad signals about the direction they will take with the UFC in that regard.
Of course, what McGregor is trying to do is look out for himself, as an individual, not organize fighters on the whole. The UFC’s owners should be mindful of that.
If WME-IMG is smart, they will work to bring McGregor in, make him a client, and then give him a percentage of the UFC as they did with other clients. Managing someone they promote will be a huge conflict of interest and unethical (if this were boxing, in fact, it would be a federal crime because of the Ali Act), but it is something they already do with Ronda Rousey.
In the future, it will be up to Congress to determine if MMA joins boxing in being regulated under the Ali Act. For now, bringing in Conor as a client/UFC equity holder would appear to be an easy fix for WME-IMG.
They could make the sport’s biggest draw happy, keep him working for them, and then get a percentage off of his earnings for outside projects. It would also a lot easier than dealing with an entire union of organized fighters.
About the author:
Elias Cepeda has served as a writer and editor covering mixed martial arts and combat sports, as well as public and cultural affairs, since 2005. He began as a staff writer for InsideFighting, and not long thereafter became publisher and editor of the page. Cepeda then went to write for Yahoo! Sports’ boxing and MMA pages, and edited their Cagewriter blog. He was hired away by FOX Sports, but after several years departed over philosophical differences with the executive leadership around important issues of journalism ethics. A student of and sometime competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA since 1999, Elias brings a unique and vibrant presence to reporting and enjoys trying to highlight shared humanity and connect common experiences from seemingly different worlds.
The "About the author" shit makes me puke for some reason
Too bad the news feed on the app doesn't work. 
Looks like Steve Urkel when he's trying to look cool, not convincing anyone.
I agree, I haven't much cared for his articles until this one. Well written and he didn't seem driven by an agenda. Could do without the about the author section though.
Looks like if David Blane switched from chicks to dicks ;)
Elias isn't necessarily my favorite, but it's not like he's fucking Pedro Carrasco. 
ChicagoTom -Looks like if David Blane switched from chicks to dicks ;)
I'd love to disagree with you...but..
Rabid Bunyip -The "About the author" shit makes me puke for some reason
stop with the personal attacks and judge him by what he is writing. its so lame, its really one of the negative things about the UG
Hes not my favourite by any means but his writing is definitely getting better.