Cejudo Advises UFC To Release McGregor

Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo believes the UFC should release Conor McGregor now rather than pay him for his last contracted bout.

McGregor has one fight remaining on his deal and has stated he will move to bare-knuckle boxing with BKFC afterward. Cejudo, speaking on his Pound 4 Pound podcast, questioned why the promotion would meet McGregor's reported $30 million purse when the Irishman no longer delivers pay-per-view revenue under the new ESPN model. "If I'm a businessman and I want to keep a lot of my money, I would cut him," Cejudo said, per MMA Fighting. "Let him be a free agent. Let him make more money elsewhere, but let him not make money or take money from us."

McGregor's Declining Value Under New UFC Model

McGregor stands 1-4 in the UFC since his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather and returned from a five-year layoff at UFC 329 only to suffer a leg injury 69 seconds into his fight with Max Holloway. Cejudo noted that with broadcast contracts already set, McGregor no longer drives incremental revenue the way he once did. The former bantamweight champion also warned of a scenario where McGregor beats a contender like Justin Gaethje, raises his market value, and then departs with leverage.

Cejudo did acknowledge McGregor remains a gate draw—UFC 329 generated a reported $26 million live—and that the promotion has built stars off his name. "He's a cash cow, I get it," Cejudo said. "He's made everybody that has a name. From Khabib Nurmagomedov to Dustin Poirier to Nate Diaz, everybody that fought Conor and was able to beat Conor, he changed their lives."

McGregor has not publicly responded to Cejudo's suggestion. No timeline has been set for his final UFC appearance.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Morning Report: Henry Cejudo suggests UFC release Conor McGregor instead of paying for final fight