Conor McGregor might have bigger goals for his future than what UFC may be able to offer. And it’s one that may spark a bidding war between Dana White and Jake Paul. ‘The Mac’ is finally set to make his comeback after five years against former ‘BMF’ Champion Max Holloway. The pair is set to face off on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahead of the fight, Ariel Helwani revealed McGregor has snubbed the UFC.

“This is a massive, massive deal for the UFC and for Paramount Plus to get him back in the mix,” Helwani told Adam Schein of New York Post Sports. “… This is the big business story. Conor comes back. They didn’t sign him to an extension. They wanted to. He didn’t want to. So Conor has two fights left. He’s got this one on July 11th and then presumably one [in the] first second quarter of 2027. 

“And then what happens with the streaming world, with Netflix, with Amazon, all these people playing big top dollar for sports. Could you imagine a Conor McGregor fight on the open market? What do you think? What do you think Netflix would pay for that? They would pay a lot of money… Let’s see how he looks in this fight. Let’s see how he looks in that second fight. And let’s see what kind of dollars he can command around this time next year.”

Ariel Helwani may have been spot on about Conor McGregor’s future. Jake Paul, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, has spent the last few years building major boxing events on Netflix. More recently, the promotion staged its first MMA event on the streaming giant, featuring several of the sport’s biggest names. Paul has also made it clear that MVP wants to offer MMA fighters another platform to compete on outside the UFC.

With that in mind, if McGregor ever leaves the UFC, there is little doubt MVP would aggressively pursue signing ‘The Notorious’. Francis Ngannou is a perfect example. Despite not being particularly fond of Paul, Ngannou still ended up fighting under the MVP banner on Netflix. A similar situation could unfold with McGregor, who has publicly clashed with Paul on multiple occasions. 

If MVP were eventually able to sign him, the move would carry a certain irony. Adding to the intrigue, Dana White announced McGregor’s UFC return while Ngannou was making his walk to the cage during MVP’s MMA event earlier this month. Even more interestingly, Nakisa Bidarian has already made his intentions regarding McGregor crystal clear.

Nakisa Bidarian would take every measure to sign Conor McGregor

As Helwani revealed, McGregor is currently tied to the UFC for two more fights. One will unfold against Max Holloway, leaving one more for the future. When the second fight may happen depends heavily on the upcoming fight and how McGregor performs after five years on the sidelines. But whenever that ends up happening, Dana White will definitely have a bidding war on his hands. 

MVP already sees massive potential in working with the former two-division champion outside the promotion’s structure. Bidarian believes McGregor understands the value of his own brand, especially after earning the biggest payday of his career against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

“If the day comes that Conor McGregor is a free agent, we will do everything in our power to work with him,” Bidarian said. “That’s to work with him to do his own events. That’s to work with him to fight Jake Paul in boxing and MMA. That’s to try to make Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz and ensure they get the vast majority of the revenue… I know he knows the power that he has as a brand. And I hope we’re able to help him in that one day.”

Even if he loses, MVP has proven with Ronda Rousey and Nate Diaz that it won’t stop them from pursuing McGregor. 

Conor McGregor and Max Holloway previously fought back in August 2013, where ‘The Mac’ defeated Holloway via unanimous decision. However, in McGregor’s absence, ‘Blessed’ has not only stayed active, but has grown his skills. 

At the end of the day, McGregor potentially leaving the UFC for another promotion could benefit fighters across the board. Wherever he goes, the spotlight follows, bringing massive attention, higher revenue, and greater opportunities for everyone attached to the card. His star power alone can elevate an entire promotion and create better financial prospects for other fighters as well.