Is UFC begging McGregor to return with Boston card booking?
Dana White and the UFC have never been fans of Boston as a place to bring their product.
A pay-per-view card has not graced Beantown since Randy Couture took on boxer James Toney in a crossover fight at UFC 118 in August 2010. Now, a handful of free TV cards have been to the TD Garden, but after the Massachusetts Athletic Commission gave White a headache in regards to making fighters eligible in 2013, he let his true feelings known.
"I'd be a liar if I said no (about decision to return to Boston not being influenced by the commission)," said White, according to Adam Guillen Jr. of MMA Mania. "(Boston's) a great place to hang out with my friends and eat, but not a great place to put on fights."
But something changed between now and then - Conor McGregor showed up.
White went against his own words Monday, telling ESPN's Brett Okamoto that the first pay-per-view card of the 2018 calendar will be held in Boston. To add to the absurdity, no fights were announced as being part of the event, typically a given when a new card is disclosed.
Despite no word from his cap yet, McGregor has immediately been linked to the event as negotiations between him and the UFC on his next bout have appeared to stall. The promotion had hoped to get him on the year-end card Dec. 30, but McGregor made it known he wants a little more time to rest up from his Floyd Mayweather blockbuster before stepping back in the Octagon.
McGregor fought in Boston in his second UFC bout back in 2013, defeating current featherweight champion Max Holloway on the preliminary card before earning the outrageous star power he owns today. "The Notorious" has made it clear in the past he would love to come back to the most Irish city in America.
"F--- Vegas, seriously. I want the east coast next. If they don't give me Ireland, give me the east coast next. I'll go back to Boston," McGregor said before his first 2016 bout with Nate Diaz, according to Independent.ie. "I know they're lobbying for New York, we had a great time when we went to Boston and the east coast, it's not as far, it's a five-hour flight."
Since McGregor already did New York (and killed it) and he's conquered Las Vegas several times, the next logical destination for him to do battle would be Boston - or his native Ireland.
The UFC badly needs some star power to get them through the beginning of next year, and they appear to be betting on McGregor to return. Through the final three pay-per-view cards of the season, the UFC has booked virtually every healthy fighter with decent drawing power who isn't already linked to McGregor in an attempt to recover from a poor year of revenue.
The promotion is also currently negotiating a new television contract that could become more lucrative if they can show prospective business partners the real popularity that McGregor brings.
The real decision still lies with the man himself as to when, where, and who he will fight next, but it seems pretty clear the UFC would very much like their return to Boston to be headlined by the most popular Irishman on the planet.