UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor holds both his belts during a press conference for UFC 205. (Photo : Getty Images/Brandon Magnus)
Conor McGregor, who just made history Saturday night after downing Eddie Alvarez in the second round of UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden to be the first two-division champion, is wanting to own stake in the UFC in preparation for his first baby.
The "double champion" McGregor is expecting to have a baby in 2017 with long-time girlfriend Dee Devlin and right after dominating Alvarez via technical knockout for the UFC lightweight belt, he told journalists that he wanted "to talk ownership" of the UFC, Jason Nawara of Champions.co reported.
"For a 28-year-old on top of the game. I can keep going all day. But I'm aware of my worth. I've got a kid on the way," the Irish champion said.
McGregor is already the highest paid UFC fighter after racking up $9,542,000 as of UFC 205, according to The Sports Daily, but he reiterated he wants equity of the company "to be set for life as an owner" as he is bound to build a family once his baby comes out.
Aside from his UFC earnings, McGregor endorses Rolls Royce, Monster Energy and Reebok to have $22 million to his name, barging in the Forbes' highest-paid athletes list at 85th place, the first UFC fighter to do so.
McGregor suffered his first loss in the hands of Nate Diaz last March as he debuted in the welterweight division but still made history to be the first UFC fighter taking home a seven-figure payday .He bounced back and trounced Diaz last August via majority decision. McGregor vs. Diaz 2 broke UFC pay-per-view records with 1,650,000 buys.
This year, UFC changed ownership after brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who held ownership of the company for over a decade, sold UFC to talent agency WME-IMG in July for an astounding $4 billion.
It is not farfetched for McGregor to be part of UFC not just as a fighter but also as an owner as the Wall Street Journal reported in September that American celebrities have invested in the company. The news website reported the likes of Ben Affleck, Adam Levine, tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams, late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien and film director Tyler Perry are among those celebrities who have backed the UFC.
